Keygate: Traverse Town
by Vathara
Summary: What happens when a World Falls to the Darkness? Traverse Town is about to get some new refugees.
1. Chapter 1

_This is a bad one_.

Leon raced at and through small mobs of Heartless, his gunblade moving in all too familiar rhythms. After three years of enduring the waves of Heartless that swept through Traverse Town's dark streets every time a new World Fell, he had more of a feel for them than any sane man wanted. This one was going to be _bad_.

 _Must have been a pretty big World_. "Yuffie!"

"Leon!" The little ninja girl cast him a look of utter relief, before hurling her oversized shuriken at the Heartless heading her way.

He wanted to yell at her. To stop and shake sense into her. She was a civilian, no matter what stories Aeris had told her; she shouldn't be out here in the dark with the monsters...

But huddled behind her were a couple of littles barely half her age, hanging onto a puppy almost as big as they were.

 _Damn it_. Leon fell in beside her, slashing out fast enough to give them both breathing room. "Call Cid and Aeris. Find out which of them is closer. Then go."

"But Leon-"

"I'm not _asking_ , Kisaragi!"

She didn't argue. Good. Because Darkness fluxed again, and they were _busy_.

 _Lot of little upwellings. I was expecting a big one_ -

It fountained up almost under their feet; a wave of Shadows, Neo-shadows, and something silvery and _big_ , with the pale face of a human bobbing in the Darkness under it all.

 _Shiva's frost. A survivor. Right in the middle of - I'm not going to get to him in time-!_

The largest Heartless _snarled_ , lion and dragon and something Darker all mixed in the sound. Silver-purple fur flowed, claws and fangs slashing and snapping other Heartless away from the groaning survivor.

 _Huh?_

But he wasn't about to look a gift chocobo in the beak. The cat-demon's unexpected assault had pushed the mob back. He could work with that.

The next few minutes were a blur of frantic familiarity. Heartless swarmed like angry bees, and he swatted them. _Please let Yuffie keep the kids okay..._

"Yeep!"

Okay, that was something to worry about. But it was a surprised yeep, not a scared one. And he had just a few more left to kill...

 _Over. For now_. Leon stared through empty streets, and shook himself. There'd be another wave soon, he could taste it. Time to get the kids out of here. And what was _yeep_ all about-?

Oh. Yeep.

Yuffie was behind the cat-demon Heartless with the kids, torn cloth at her shoulder showing where sharp teeth had grabbed and snatched her out of the fray. The green-uniformed survivor was a few feet away, on the other side of the littles, heavy wrench in hand and streetlights gleaming off his glasses as he whipped his head about looking for more enemies. Definitely _not_ looking at the massive, red-eyed monster beside them.

 _Mid to late thirties, looks military but not front-line_ , Leon judged. _Doesn't think_ that _Heartless is a threat, why- whoa_.

He hadn't seen it in the fray, but the cat-demon wasn't alone.

 _Neo-shadow. I think. Only a little small... and I've never seen one with handcuffs before. A Gargoyle - on the ground? They're not bright, but they know they fight better in the air. And_...

At first, he wasn't sure it was a Heartless at all, and not some odd spell effect. But something like dark St. Elmo's fire flickered over the cat-demon's mane, climbing up to the horns before sheeting back down to the furred back. It dipped one direction, then the other, then back.

 _It's keeping a lookout._

 _They're_ intelligent.

A bit of a leap. And maybe they weren't any smarter than, say, a pack of yeth hounds. Which would still be scary, compared to most Heartless-

Red eyes fixed on him. On his gunblade. On the littles.

 _Damn. Going to have to move_ -

Deliberately, the creature sat down.

Leon realized his mouth was open. Closed it, before Yuffie could notice. "Okay," he breathed. "Yuffie? You all right?"

The ninja was rubbing her shoulder, as if she still couldn't believe she'd only lost a shirt instead of skin. "Leon don't hurt him it was going to stab me and I couldn't kill it quick enough and he grabbed me right out of the way and Heartless don't _do_ that-!"

"Breathe," the army guy advised her. "Um... don't shoot Vincent, he's scary but he's one of the good guys... where are we? This - it can't be Earth..."

Great. The shock was setting in. "I'm Leon. That's Yuffie. Ask the kids who they are later. You are?"

"Sergeant Sylvester Siler," the wrench-guy stammered. "Stargate Command... where _are_ we?"

"Traverse Town," Leon stated. _Stargate Command? Space travel. That can get ugly_. "And you're not safe yet."

"Safe?" Siler almost laughed. "The world just fell apart. Where's safe?" He was looking at streets and buildings and ruins, face going paler in a way Leon had seen all too many times. The bits and pieces Traverse Town had been cobbled together from looked like what they were; pieces of wildly different worlds, and nothing like home. "This is supposed to be _Daniel's_ job..."

With the kind of wobble to his voice that meant whoever Daniel was, he hadn't survived. Leon winced. "Come on, let's get you-"

The cat-demon shuddered. Vanished, into a swirl of blue-black and lightning-

A naked man slumped to the ground.

" _Yeek!"_

"Yuffie, kids, don't look," Leon ordered, shrugging off his jacket. He could taste the magic lingering in the air, spilling off pale skin and the three remaining Heartless clinging close to the unconscious man. Dark, no doubt about it. But... a clean Dark, somehow. Night wind, and stars, and smoke from a welcoming fire.

 _Aeris says Dark isn't always evil. I hope she's right_. "Vincent? Let me put this on you, okay?"

No response. He draped the man for modesty anyway, keeping a wary eye on the three Heartless. They were _watching_ him. And they were definitely not happy.

 _Not attacking, though. That's interesting_.

"It could take him a while to wake up," Siler offered. "He's always tired after he shifts. And this time - it was bad. After Lea went down, and then the others..." Words died in his throat as he stared at the little Heartless-fire. And shuddered.

Leon eyed the creature, which was now outlining the wings on the back of his jacket and giving him a balefire glare. "Lea?"

Siler's jaw worked. He swallowed, and shook his head. "I - that can't be-"

Slender fingers touched Siler's arm before he could yield to hysteria. "You need to sit down, and have some hot soup," Aeris said firmly. "I'll take care of your friends. Yuffie? Get everyone to the church. Leon and I will be right behind you."

"Right!"

"Church," Siler was muttering as Yuffie dragged him off. "Yeah. I should go more often..."

"Be careful," Leon said quietly, as Aeris approached the odd foursome. "They're not acting like normal Heartless."

"No, they aren't, are they?" Aeris held out her hand, palm up. "I'm Aeris. I want to help your friend."

"Vincent," Leon told her. "Siler said his name was Vincent."

For a moment, Aeris seemed to go perfectly still. _"Vincent."_

Leon didn't know how she did it, but he could _hear_ the man in the name. Tall, lean; black hair flowing in the wind as he lined up shot after shot...

The cuff-bearing Shadow crept nearer. Reached up, and rested black talons in Aeris' hand.

Leon tried not to hold his breath.

"That's right." Aeris' voice was soft as chickobo down. "Take me to Vincent."

Yellow eyes blinked at her. Carefully, the Shadow tugged, and let Aeris follow. The Gargoyle shifted her wings, making room for Aeris to kneel by the unconscious man. Even the fire pulled back... but just a little.

The healer murmured a soft prayer, hands glowing pale green with magic that sank into skin like gentle rain. Color faded back into a pale face-

Red eyes snapped open, and the man sat up in almost indecent haste. "Captain!"

 _Another military guy_ , Leon deduced, as the Shadow clumsily patted Vincent's arm. _I wonder what went wrong on your world_. "Siler said your name is Vincent?"

"Sergeant Vincent Valentine. SG-6." Red eyes looked at the Heartless first; flinched, in visible grief. Only then did he seem to take in how he wasn't dressed. "You... saw."

 _Damn, he wants to run,_ Leon realized. _He wants to run from_ us? _Why? He was a Heartless. And we didn't pull out the heavy magic, and any Heartless that saw what we did use ought to think we're not_ that _tough_ -

 _He was a Heartless. I don't know how in Ramuh's name he managed to come back from that, but he did. What are the odds not everyone listened when his friend said_ don't shoot?

" _Don't shoot." Oh. Wonderful. They tried to use guns._

And Siler had left his fellow survivor out cold in the street. His fellow _military_ survivor.

 _...Vincent's not scared because we're a threat. He's scared because_ people _are a threat_.

 _Thank the gods for Aeris_.

"You're a shape-shifter!" Aeris beamed, as if someone had given her a new lamp for her flowers. "It's all right. Magic isn't hidden in this world."

Leon suppressed the urge to groan and rub his scar. Aeris could do that, sometimes; pull bits of a new refugee's past out of the tiny World-fragments that'd ridden the Dark along with them.

A shape-shifter from a world where magic had to hide, who'd been in the _military?_ Leon tried not to grimace. _This? Is not good_.

Leon had been a mercenary, not regular forces - but still. He knew about the life. Shape-shifters needed _space_. And that was exactly what you didn't get. Close quarters, living in your teammate's pockets; any secrets you had might stay in the unit, but you'd never keep them to yourself.

 _And I thought I had issues_.

"Are these your friends?" Aeris went blithely on.

Vincent pulled the jacket a little closer around himself. "They were."

Leon winced. Bad enough to be fighting Heartless from who-knew-where. People you knew? Ow.

"They still are," Aeris said firmly. "Leon? I need you as the Commander for a minute."

She didn't ask for that often. "What are we doing?"

"You're going to stand in for Twilight Town." Putting her right hand under Vincent's, Aeris beckoned to the little Shadow.

Carefully, dark talons rested on top of pale fingers.

 _Magic_. Leon waited for the Gargoyle to add her claws, and the little fire to stretch a lick of flame into the knot of flesh and energy. Put his hand on top, and let Aeris cover it with her left. _I hope you know what we're doing_.

"Vincent's part of your Hearts, and you wouldn't leave him." Aeris' words seemed to ring through the dark, gathering light and shadows. "We're going to help him, and we want to help you. People in Twilight Town help each other. You're not whole, but you're still Vincent's Team. Stay with us."

It didn't have the bang and flash of combat magic. But Leon felt something shift in the air, like a spring wind blowing.

"There." Aeris let go. "If you trust us, they'll trust us."

Vincent studied her, that odd crimson gaze smoldering. Glanced at Leon. "Commander?"

 _Definitely military. And not a regular soldier. If I don't give him something to do, he'll_ find _something_. "Right now, the best thing you can do for all of us is go with Aeris and let her brief you," Leon said bluntly. "You need clothes, weapons, and information. And you need to tell Siler you're all right." He drew in a breath, feeling the air go _quiet_.

 _The calm before the storm_.

The way Vincent eyed the shadows, he might feel it too. He glanced at Leon again, and inclined his head. "Sir."

 _Interesting_ , Leon thought, as Aeris led the little menagerie away. _If we live through this wave, I want to talk to him_.

A few minutes more, and the wave of Darkness surged again, shifting the patterns of where Heartless were, and weren't. And again...

By about the fourth surge-and-shift, Leon was starting to get worried. And tired. Pieces of Traverse Town had simply crumbled under refugees' feet. Aeris' church was still stable, and Merlin's hut, but at least one clocktower and ancient mansion that had stood through the past two years were now so much scattered dust and splintering boards. Who knew if they'd ever be livable again. _Must have been one heck of a World_ -

And it had some very nasty flying Heartless.

 _Wonderful_. Leon dodged over tile and thatched rooftops inches ahead of a burning red beam, playing bait as Cid jumped into position to spear it through a flashing yellow lighted top vent. But for every one they'd taken out this way, there seemed to be a half-dozen more swooping in. _I hate flyers. If only we had a way to hit them from a distance_ -

 _Crack. Crack. Crack_.

Three disc-shaped Heartless suddenly spun out of the swarm; one disintegrating into black shreds of shadow, the other two spitting sparks.

 _That was a gun_.

Leon had heard them now and again over the past few years. Usually just one shot, and then screaming. Sometimes two. Three, all of which had done actual _damage_ -

More shots. Moving closer.

Pulling g's no human could survive without magic, the few remaining discs screamed back through a Dark hole in the sky.

Quiet. Leon traded a glance with Cid, listening to the wind moaning through settling debris as they got their breath back.

"Huh." Cid lit a cigar; drew in a breath of smoke. "That was interesting." Settling the Venus Gospel over his shoulder, the engineer waggled thick brows. "So who gets to check it out?"

Leon smirked.

"Sure. Hog all the fun." Cid flipped his PHS open. "Hey, Aeris! Looks quiet for now..."

A few more jumps took Leon down to street level. He checked direction against the stars-

 _One less star up there. Gods._

Sighed, and headed west.

Wrapped in dark leather and a tattered red wool cloak, Vincent was waiting. "Commander."

"Leon is fine." Leon accepted his jacket back, giving the new fighter a frank look over. _Better. A lot better_. Red eyes were still hurt, still _lost_ \- but they were focused. Here and now.

 _Thank you, Aeris_.

Leon let his look over the three Heartless be just as obvious. The Gargoyle was clinging to the edge of a roof over Vincent's head. The Shadow was peering around one corner. And the balefire was riding Vincent's shoulder, flames flickering this way and that.

 _Sweet Shiva. No wonder nothing came after him. They're backing him up_.

And each one had red-and-pink ribbons knotted on them; on the Shadow's antennae, on the Gargoyle's horns, and one - with what looked like a bit of materia - wafting in black flames. "Aeris?" Leon almost smiled.

"Yes." And that was a faint smile, as Vincent plucked a ribbon-end from gnawing licks of fire. "Don't eat that."

 _It's not burning him_ , Leon thought. Glanced at a few stray scorch marks around the fighter's position. _But it can definitely burn. Interesting_. "I thought I heard... oh."

Damn. It'd been a long, long time since he'd seen someone wearing a leg holster.

"My compliments to your weaponsmiths." Vincent offered him the tri-barreled revolver butt-first. "The design isn't one I'm familiar with. But it is effective."

"Looks like," Leon murmured. A good, solid piece of work, with a minimum of the ornamentation Moogles often loved. Just swirls of silver chasing, a stylized Cerberus pendant dangling from a chain, and-

 _Materia slots. This gun's meant to be_ equipped. "Do you use materia on your world?"

Vincent frowned. "What?"

 _That'd be a no_. "It's an energy source," Leon summed up. "Did the Moogles mention it _?" Ack. Think, Leon. He's only been here what, a few hours?_

"I honestly had no idea what they were saying," Vincent admitted. "Aeris advised me to smile and nod. That I could thank them later, after the world had... caught up with me, is how she phrased it." Crimson eyes burned at Leon. "The way she said it - living here has effects?"

 _Aeris asked for the slots. She had to have. Meaning she thinks Vincent can pick up Nibelheim magic-use. Huh_. "Beneficial, mostly," Leon informed him. "Traverse Town is a Multiversal place. Understanding what other humans are saying is easy. Understanding other species takes a little longer." And there were other effects... but if Siler and Vincent evacuated to another world, they wouldn't need to worry. Those could wait.

 _Or maybe not. Aeris gave Vincent a_ slotted gun. _She thinks he's going to stay_.

"Multiversal?"

And that was a _very_ fast pounce on a word a lot of refugees missed. _Tactical thinker. Good_. "Siler implied you had space travel. So you know there are other life-supporting planets."

"...Yes."

Leon tried not to look too interested. _Siler left something out, then_. "Long story short, there's more than one universe. A lot more. Places like Traverse Town... a lot of universes connect, here. When one of them collapses, we tend to get the survivors." _Pause. Give him a breath_. "We also get a lot of the Heartless. Sorry. You've landed in another war zone."

Vincent's gaze was distant. "A war zone... with survivors."

"Everyone here made it through their World Falling," Leon agreed. "We still lose people. But we lose a lot less."

"Hmm."

Which was the sound of someone fairly mentally tough, who'd finally hit _I'm going to think about this later_.

"Organized defenses, and you know what's going on," Vincent observed. "I would call this an improvement."

 _Tough, and he has a sense of humor. Nice._ "Merlin can explain it better than I can," Leon stated, offering the gun. "Trust me, he'd love to."

"I'll ask." Vincent accepted his weapon back, dark bangs casting his gaze into shadow. "So you would say I am human."

"Yes," Leon said bluntly. _Think I just found touchy issue one. Great_. "Normal? Probably not. Most people who survive to get here aren't normal anymore. But human, yes." He gave the gunman a level look. "If that was a problem on your world... we still get some idiots here. But most of our people have had some sense beaten into them. Anyone who helps stand up against the Heartless, is one of ours."

Vincent fixed him with a burning gaze. "My team."

"They stay." Leon held his gaze, just as steady. "You might want to keep them away from the littles unless Aeris is there. Kids will be scared. Outside of that, use your own judgment."

"I should have done that weeks ago." Vincent looked away. "I couldn't save them."

Pain. Leon could hear it in quiet words. Feel it, aching in his own dark memories. "We've all lost a lot of people." _Rinoa_. "They're bound to you." _And you to them, if Aeris is right_. "That's more than most people save. If a Keybearer can fix things, if your World comes back... they should come back, too."

Crimson flashed at him. "Comes back?"

Leon waved down the street, roughly toward the church. "Come on. We've got a lot to talk about."

Almost reluctantly, Vincent followed; Gargoyle taking off and Shadow whispering in his wake. "Will it include why Miss Gainsborough said not to bother with camouflage?"

Ooo. Somebody's sense of proper tactics was offended. "It will," Leon smiled. "We don't have standard units here. You have to know who's fighting with you, so you know what weapons and tactics to account for. Heartless don't hunt by sight. They hunt by feeling Hearts. You could be wearing bright pink polka dots, and they wouldn't find you any faster-"

The balefire flowed down to Vincent's hand, crackling frantically.

 _There's another wave_ -

Mechanical falcon-shaped flyers. Hulking scaled ogre-like brutes. Swarms and swarms of Shadows.

But it was the small, snake-like Heartless the Gargoyle hissed and dove for, the rest of Vincent's Team spreading out around the humans so no writhing shapes got within yards of them. "Parasites!" Vincent bit out, sniping one in midair. "They possess humans!"

 _Parasitic_ Heartless. Leon's blood ran cold. _Your World didn't stand a chance, did it?_

A massive shadow fell over them. Cursing, Leon looked up.

 _It's a pyramid. A flying, spaceship-pyramid_.

Not a big one, as pyramids went. But big enough to squash the town square and every building around it if it came down. The top of it was opening, a Dark portal spilling out even more Heartless.

 _That? Is just not fair_.

But it _wasn't_ hopeless. Not with Vincent giving him cover fire, and the Team snarling after fliers and the parasites, leaving Leon free to concentrate on the closer brutes. He had an idea for the pyramid, he just needed a few seconds to think-

A massive fist got through, and he was flying.

 _Nothing that big should be that fast_.

But Leon was smirking even as he hit the ground, struggling back to his feet as the golden glow started to build around him. _Bye-bye pyramid_.

Power gathering, he leaped skyward.

* * *

 _Not possible_ , Vincent thought, diving clear of the static-prickle of gathering magic. _No one has that much power!_

And no one could _move_ like that, half-hanging in air as if gravity had no meaning, a golden and black-fire blur of a blade streaking blue after-images through the night, tearing through the Unas-Heartless in front of Leon easily as Galian tore apart steel.

Leon landed. Raised his blue-lit blade skyward, a whirlwind of golden power swirling around him-

 _Time to go_.

Snatching a red-ribboned Shadow, Vincent ran for the closest street leading into the square. Above, the Gargoyle was beating her wings in a frantic bid for more speed, just as aware as he was that glowing equaled _you don't want to be here_.

 _Lea!_ Vincent grabbed the wall to corner, felt brick crumble under his fingers as he twisted to look back. _Where's-?_

Golden light shot up from the tip of Leon's blade, piercing clouds, death gliders, and one very unhappy ha'tak.

Eyes alight, Leon brought blade and beam _down_ -

The ha'tak exploded.

Vincent dodged back behind the corner, registering an odd emptiness to the boom. Not rending metal and crystal ores, as it should have been. More a sound of shredding cloth, and chiming glass, and a whisper of shadows...

Quiet. Vincent peered back around the corner, firearm ready.

No more Heartless. No shards of wreckage. Only Leon, panting and bloody in the square, with a black fire creeping down the edge of his blade to swing up onto his shoulder.

"You tried to help." Leon patted the flames. "Thanks. I had it, though. Stick with Vincent next time."

Catching his breath, Vincent headed back toward the Commander. "What was that?"

"Renzokuken."

 _Continual Sword_. Vincent shook his head. "The name tells me very little. What _was_ that? And how did you do it? I've never seen anyone gather half that much magic."

Bloody and exhausted as he obviously was, Leon still gave Vincent a searching look, followed by a slight, wry smile. "Magic had to hide on your world. You wouldn't have had a chance to develop advanced techniques." The smile slipped into a smirk. "It'd be like trying to build a spaceship in your backyard. Without getting caught."

"You should have met Major Carter." Vincent moved in to support the wounded man, mentally testing the implications of Leon's statement. "You see magic as a _science_." _If it is, if it's something you can explain - can you tell me what's happened to me? What's happened to_ us?

Explain, possibly. Cure? Unlikely. Or there wouldn't be so many Heartless attacking Traverse Town.

 _My team brought me back_.

A miracle. He couldn't dare hope for another. No matter how much he wished to.

"There's still a lot of art to it," Leon said, leaning on him without making a fuss. Experienced, then; well past a young soldier's impulse to bluff out pain. "But there's art in airship design, too. You should see a Garden..." He shook his head, as if to chase away a memory. "Aeris and Merlin handle most of the basic instruction here. I bet the first thing Aeris will teach you is Cure-"

Pages rustled overhead as the Gargoyle hovered in midair, an almost familiar grimoire in her claws. Nodded, and waved one set of talons through a graceful flow of motions Vincent almost understood...

 _Sign. She can't speak. She's_ signing _the spell_.

A last flourish, and a soft golden glow left her hand to settle over Leon, healing gashes to shallow cuts, and fading scratches almost completely. Talons clapped the book together, and it vanished.

Leon leaned on him a little less, dark brows lifting in surprise. "Not bad. Not a full Cure, but not bad."

"Angela was a sorceress on my world," Vincent said quietly, as they started walking again. "Over the last few months... she had a great deal of practice."

"Months?" Leon almost halted in his tracks, giving Vincent a measuring look. "You've been holding off the Heartless for _months?_ "

"Only three, I think," Vincent admitted. "Why?"

"Most Worlds Fall in a few days." Leon whistled softly. "Your people are tough."

Months was a long time to survive? "How long have you been here?" Vincent asked, more sharply than he'd intended.

"At least three years." Leon didn't look offended. "Like you said, we know what we're dealing with. Most Worlds haven't got a clue."

 _And without that knowledge, the most trained soldiers don't stand a chance_ , Vincent finished silently, glancing down the street. There was a light approaching. One that looked almost familiar.

Aeris, the crescent moon on her staff glowing softly. Looking very stern, indeed. "Are you alright? We saw you use Blasting Zone!"

"Heartless," Leon said simply. "Spaceship-sized Heartless."

"In atmosphere?" Running a green glow over the rest of Leon's wounds, Aeris looked taken aback.

"I thought you said that was Renzokuken," Vincent observed.

Leon shrugged. "It is."

"Leon! He doesn't know about Limits yet." Shaking her head, Aeris turned impish green eyes on Vincent. "Blasting Zone is one of Leon's Renzokuken." She gestured down the street. "Come on. That should be the last wave for a while, and we'll all feel better at Merlin's."

 _Merlin?_

* * *

 _It's Vincent!_ Walking them home through dark streets, Aeris wanted to fling her arms out and twirl around from sheer happiness. _It's really, really him! Oh, I've been waiting_ forever.

Well, not forever. As far as Radiant Garden and Traverse Town were concerned, it'd only been about five years. Though apparently time had gone a bit funny when she and Chaos had tossed souls across the Multiverse; Yuffie and Cid had been reborn years before Aeris herself had dropped in on Radiant Garden.

Oh, that was still a horrible memory, even now. She'd been with Zack in the Lifestream, watching over Cloud as he fought the geostigma and the Remnants and Sephiroth again, why couldn't Jenova give up and let go-

And then Cloud had been shot, and somehow Darkness had used that as a way in, and the Heartless had headed for her World's Keyhole as if they knew _exactly_ where it was.

 _Hojo. It felt like him. We all thought he died in the tower, but somehow... oh, that nasty, soulless little man!_

Whoever it had been, however it had happened... she, Zack, Chaos and Vincent had had no _time_. All they could do was reach out from the Lifestream, for all those closest to them-

 _Friends. Enemies. Every Heart we could sense_.

-Gather their Hearts with a wish and a prayer, and _throw_.

So many souls to save. So many lives they couldn't save. She'd worn herself thin in the flow of energies, fighting to save one more, just one more, until finally Zack's hands closed around her own-

" _Love you, babe. Time to_ go. _"_

She'd woken up on the steps of her church, in one of Ansem the Wise's flower gardens, alive and confused and _alone_.

Though... not quite alone. Chaos was caught in exhausted slumber under the church's foundations. And there had been a young man crumpled at her feet, gunblade clutched in gloved hands as he cried out for Rinoa.

Aeris didn't know what it was with the Multiverse and throwing heartbroken swordsmen at her, but she wasn't complaining. Under the stoic ice of Shiva's power, Leon was a good man. And a good friend.

 _You'll find her, and I'll find Zack. We_ will. _Someday_.

Someday was just taking its own sweet time, that was all.

But never mind, Vincent was here now. And Leon - dear, stubborn Leon - would finally get enough help to rest.

 _Just as soon as Vincent gets a little rest_ , Aeris thought. To lose yet another World... he had to be hurting.

 _We'll just have to fix that_. Aeris opened the door of Merlin's hut, and grinned.

And Leon really was a nice person, no matter how much he tried to fool people, because he tried to warn Vincent. "It looks a little odd in there..."

"Everything here looks odd." Determined, Vincent stalked in. And stopped, just a few feet inside the threshold.

"Say it!" Aeris giggled. "You know you want to."

"...Someone stole a TARDIS while it wasn't looking?"

Er. She hadn't expected that.

"Ha-hah!" Merlin chuckled as they all came in and closed the door, now firmly inside a room distinctly larger than the hut was outside. "So you have stories of Gallifreyans on your World? Well-meaning chaps, most of them. Though you do run across the odd take over the universe sort from time to time... there's always one, isn't there?" Standing by one of his tamer chairs, the wizard patted Siler on the shoulder. "There now, you see? Safe and sound. If Miss Gainsborough says someone's fit to fight, they usually are."

Seated as if he were having second thoughts about touching the cushions, white knuckles gripping his wrench, Siler glanced up at Vincent. And almost flinched away again, at the sight of shadows with yellow eyes. "This place doesn't make _sense_."

Vincent lifted a brow. "Which part?"

Which was obviously one of her old friend's dry jokes, so Aeris grinned at Siler-

Who was sputtering. And not in a happy way, even though the grumbles of "Dr. Who?!" sounded a lot less stressed than the man she'd led out of the dark for a bowl of soup. But when his gaze passed near the Team-

 _To him, they're just Heartless_ , Aeris thought. _Oh no. How can one of Vincent's friends think that?_

But he didn't _feel_ like Vincent's friend, she realized. Their Hearts didn't touch. Not even as closely as Vincent's touched hers.

 _Not his friend. Just... someone he knows_.

Vincent had saved a fellow soldier, and failed to save his friends. Oh, _no_.

 _Find the quiet inside_ , Aeris told herself. _He's hurt. At least you know where to start healing_.

"Just think of it as more off-planet weirdness," Vincent suggested.

"Easy for you, I was never supposed to go through the 'Gate," Siler muttered. "And I don't care if magic _is_ real, I'm an _engineer_ -"

The front door thumped open again. "Somebody taking my job in vain?" Cid grumped, chomping on a toothpick. "Leon? We got trouble with the electrics on the north side. Looks like some of the new fragments that crashed in sheared through a main conduit like _that_." He slapped hands across each other.

Leon's grimace was as eloquent as one of Cid's cigar-punctuated tirades. "Do what you can. The waves are over for now, a little darkness won't kill people."

"Always better to handle spitting sparks in the daylight," Siler agreed.

Everyone local looked at him. Aeris sighed.

Vincent gazed back at them, and nodded to himself. "There is no daylight?"

Siler went a little paler. "But - we're on a planet."

"Not exactly," Cid said, with a gruff compassion newcomers never expected from him. "More like a bunch of asteroids cobbled together with gravity and atmosphere. We've got sunlamps for Aeris' gardens, and we scavenge a lot from other fragments that swing by. We get by. You ever been EVA?"

"Not yet." Some of the color came back to Siler's face. "You can get into orbit?"

"Can I get into orbit. Oh, just you wait." Cid looked enormously pleased with himself. "See, Leon? That's the way people should think about space."

Leon glanced toward the ceiling, and lifted his shoulders. "Sorry. Bad memories."

"You can get into orbit," Siler repeated, half to himself. "Well. If we're going to be here a while..." He spread his hands. "Maybe you could show me one of your circuit diagrams?"

"Right this way." Cid jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, and led the determined sergeant out. "I try to keep things simple, with slack in the cables wherever we can get away with it..."

Vincent waited until the door was closed to give the rest of them a considering look. "There is something you don't want Siler to hear."

"It's more important for you to know it first. You said you'd been fighting the Heartless for months." Leon crossed his arms. "Defensively, or offensively?"

Vincent arched an eyebrow.

"What Leon means to say is," Merlin clarified, tapping his glasses, "do you merely defend yourself and your allies when the Heartless arrive? Or do you go out looking for them first?"

Crimson narrowed. Met Leon's blue, stare for stare. "You can't win a defensive war."

"Then you are at risk, much more so than your Sergeant Siler," Merlin said firmly. "The Heartless are Multiversal creatures. Fighting them has a cost." He waved a hand. "Most of those in this room have already paid it."

"And part of you _is_ a Heartless," Aeris put in. _And how did that happen to Galian, anyway?_ "You already have the Multiverse's attention." _I don't want to tell him. I want him to_ stay.

But that had to be Vincent's decision. No matter how lonely she was.

"You can't fight the Heartless with just physical weapons," Leon said plainly. "You've been shooting them; you have to know that. They're made from Hearts, and the only way to take them down is to use part of your own. Do that long enough, in a Multiversal place like Traverse Town... the Multiverse gives you back more than you lost. That has - consequences."

"We call it Keying," Merlin picked up the thread of the story. "There's a very long, technical explanation, which I prefer to reserve for nights we're all stricken with incurable insomnia. In essence, the energy of the Multiverse is vastly different from that of any one World. Take enough of it into your system that your Heart becomes used to it... well. You won't be able to go home again, even if your World reforms."

"We can evacuate the two of you to another World," Leon offered. "We try to do that with most refugees, when we can find somewhere safe. The Castle's a safe World, even if it is Multiversal, and Queen Minnie has spells to let people fit in on some of their linked Worlds without being noticed." He hesitated. "But most of those worlds aren't very technological. There's Navigator, and the Lost Empire; you might try one of those. But... I don't think they have shape-shifters."

The sniper looked down. Let the Shadow lean against him, obviously comforted by his presence. "What would be best for my Team?"

Leon started. Merlin peered over his glasses at the four of them, and raised a bushy white brow. "Oh dear. I don't think the question's ever come up before."

"Bringing Heartless to a world not equipped to deal with them would be an unacceptable risk," Vincent said quietly. "We'll stay." He glanced at Leon. "You should offer Siler the chance to leave. I was on one of the Stargate teams. I've visited many planets. Siler was one of our base engineers. He never intended to leave Earth."

"Stargate?" Aeris asked. It sounded interesting. And oddly familiar.

"A device discovered on my world some years ago, that had been buried for thousands of years," Vincent answered. "Apparently, they were built by a race that has disappeared, that we know only as the Ancients."

Stunned, Aeris reached for the fading sense of World around Vincent again. _Ancients. Cetra?_

 _Yes/kin/near-kin_ , the Multiverse murmured back. _No more loneliness. Listen_.

Aeris closed her eyes, listening to the pulse of magic. There was Traverse Town, a zydeco rush of melody-bits, held together by her bright hum and the steady wave-rush of Chaos. There was Merlin, a low, hidden rumble that could shake mountains apart. There was Leon, the singing of a gunblade through air softened by the counterpoint of piano and angelic choir that was _Rinoa_ , all bound by a lion's purr. And Vincent...

Not as loud as any of Traverse Town's defenders. Not nearly as complex. And the wave-crash that was _Chaos_ was missing. But even so, Vincent was the heartbeat of a great drum, carrying three fainter melodies when they faltered.

 _Merlin moves through Worlds wherever he likes. Leon and I are Keyed. Vincent - he's not. Not yet_.

But he felt like kin. He felt like home.

"Earth doesn't - didn't - have much in the way of space travel," Vincent went on. "We can reach low Earth orbit, and we've sent missions to the Moon. But through the Stargate, we can travel to thousands of other worlds... planets, if you call a universe a World. We've been searching for help and allies. To make a long story very short - the first time Dr. Daniel Jackson and Colonel O'Neill went through the 'Gate, they encountered the Goa'uld; a parasitic alien race that had once ruled over Earth, and still ruled over humans across hundreds of planets. On Earth, our ancestors had rebelled, and sealed the 'Gate. Given it took years to cross interstellar distances, the Goa'uld decided to deny Earth had ever existed, and simply forget anyone had dared challenge their power. When Jackson and O'Neill killed Ra to free Abydos... they were reminded." A dark shrug. "Unfortunately, technology does advance. As of about a year ago, they _can_ easily reach Earth."

A year ago. Leon frowned. "So that's not what pushed your World to Fall."

"No." Crimson glanced away. "For this... I need to sit down."

* * *

As the echoes of Vincent's story died into silence, Leon eyed the black flame huddled in the sniper's lap. _Tried to save a soul, and ended up destroying the world. Damn_.

In a way, the most awful part of Vincent's story was how long their World had survived. Most Worlds were swamped by the Heartless in an overwhelming wave; a tsunami of Darkness, sweeping everything away in a few nights of horror. Survivors were always shocked, but most of them were able to move on.

The Stargate had held out long enough for people to turn on each other. For _Heroes_ to turn on each other. And from what Vincent hadn't said, his Team had been right in the Heroes' crosshairs.

 _Their World's Heroes turned on the backup Heroes. Great. Just great_.

Vincent probably didn't realize his team were Heroes. But if Lea had been able to steal a Keychain in the first place, without another Hero noticing... According to Merlin, Keychains just didn't let that happen. A Keychain that left a Hero's hands should have been yelling at the universe for someone to come find it.

Aeris sighed, breaking the uneasy quiet. "You four need a lot more than just soup."

Vincent glanced at her from under his bangs. "Miss Gainsborough-"

"Aeris," she said firmly. "Sometimes things go wrong, no matter how hard we try." She cocked her head at the Heartless, one brow arched in interest. "What should we call them?"

Vincent ducked his head into his collar. "They have names."

"Human names," Aeris agreed. "But part of what makes them human is missing right now. Galian has his own name, and that helps you deal with him better, doesn't it? Maybe their Heartless would be helped by new names, too."

 _Not to mention, it might help you_ , Leon thought. He caught Merlin's frown, and gave him a quiet nod. Aeris' grasp of magic was more intuitive than a wizard's, but they both knew their healer usually knew what she was doing.

"I'll... consider it," Vincent said at last. "For now, where should we go?"

Mischief glinted under Merlin's bushy eyebrows. "Nowhere, for the moment," he chuckled. "I believe someone wishes to thank you."

Leon shot the old wizard a look. Merlin only smiled, and waved his wand at the door. "In with you, now, don't dawdle."

Heavy wood swung away from Yuffie's fist, still raised to knock; she shook it at Merlin instead. "No fair! How am I supposed to be a ninja if you always know it's me?"

"As one Master Splinter might say, practice _harder_." The wizard tilted his head, the tip of his pointed hat tilting as he peered behind the girl. "Well, now. You did want to meet him properly, didn't you?"

Crimson widened, alarmed. But Aeris was right there, a gentle hand resting on his leather glove. "It'll be all right. You'll see."

Wary, two girls and a massive puppy peered out from behind Yuffie. Leon had to hide a chuckle, seeing the youngsters' own magic at work. It might not look like much, but it'd saved the Scooby Gang time and again. Give them anything to hide behind, even a lamppost, and they were as invisible as the ninja Yuffie wanted to be. It even worked against Heartless. Most of the time. "Daphne. Velma. Scooby. Good to see you."

"Hi," Daphne managed. Velma was silent, wide-eyed behind her glasses.

"I saw you," Vincent said, barely above a whisper. "I'm glad you're alright."

"Alright?" Yuffie planted fists on her skinny hips in disbelief. "You owe me a new shirt, mister! I liked that shirt. It was comfy... um, stealthy! Really good for hiding. Who do you think you are, grabbing a ninja out of a fight and tearing up her sneaking clothes, huh?"

Leon watched her hands shake, and mentally applauded her bluff. Never let the Heartless know you were afraid.

One dark brow went up. "Vincent Valentine."

 _No Sergeant_ , Leon realized, trying not to straighten too obviously. He could feel Aeris' hidden smile. _He's stepping away from his own chain of command. I know it doesn't exist anymore, but - why?_

"Who are you?" Vincent went on, just as mild.

Aeris broke into a grin, wide enough to make Leon nervous. That was one of Aeris' schemes about to thump someone over the head with flowers and a picnic basket. What in the worlds was Aeris planning? And when had she ever found time to set it up?

"Who am I?" Yuffie's arms spread in mock indignation. "I am the ninja princess! Scourge of evil, defender of the planet, the white rose of Wutai!" She whirled, presenting the names like a thrown gauntlet. "I am _Yuffie Kisaragi!_ "

Vincent leaned forward in his chair, ruby gaze somehow softer. "Hello, Yuffie."

Aeiris let out a relieved breath, one fist clenching in hidden triumph.

 _Corner her later_ , Leon decided. Something had Aeris giddy as a cat with cream, and he wanted to know what-

"Are you going to be her knight?" Velma asked suddenly.

The man who would always be Rinoa's Knight froze. _What the-?_

"Excuse me?" Vincent's tone was quiet, without any hint of threat. Spooky all the same, with black fire clinging to him and a Gargoyle and Shadow lurking by his chair.

Velma drew herself up to her full eight-year-old height, straightening her glasses with a scholar's air. "Princesses are _supposed_ to have knights to help them fight the monsters _." Grownups are so slow_ , her prim tone said. "But Yuffie's a _ninja_ princess. She can't have one of those clanky idiots in armor. You look like you know how to sneak." she grinned. "And you already saved her from the monsters."

"Velma!" Yuffie was bright red.

"Re did," Scooby chortled. "Right for the Rincess!"

Vincent blinked. Cast a subtle glance Leon's way, that all but shouted, _did that dog just talk?_

Amused despite himself, Leon nodded. _Poor guy. I need to warn you about Aeris._

"A wise princess takes time to learn about anyone who might become her knight," Vincent suggested, after a few seconds of what looked like very fast thinking. "No oath should ever be spoken lightly, or in haste."

 _Gives Yuffie a graceful out, and treats the kids seriously_. Leon applauded silently. _I like you already_.

"Um - but - you mean," Yuffie sputtered. One hand dove for a side pocket.

"Blink," Leon murmured for Vincent's ears.

The flash bomb was more of a _whoomp_ than a bang, but it did the job.

Vincent rose from his chair, crouching again to pick up a fragment of eggshell from where the kids had been. "Old-fashioned _nageteppo_ ," he observed. "Ninja eggshell bomb. I've only read about these in odd history books."

Aeris' brows shot up, and she laughed. "No wonder she wanted to help with breakfast!"

"Eggshell bombs?" Leon muttered. "Huh." Yuffie was no engineer, but she was showing a definite knack for improvising.

"She wants to be a ninja so much," Aeris went on. "I've told her every story I remember, but you actually know what she made." She gave the sniper a look that mixed pleading and challenge. "I think you could teach each other a lot."

Vincent stiffened. "She's very young."

"Not as young as you think," Leon shrugged. "She's been fighting Heartless almost since we got here." _Whether I like it or not. So she'd damn well better be trained for it_. "What's the real problem?"

The sniper winced. "You trust too much."

"Young man," Merlin tapped his fingertips together, "I am quite capable of binding a Behemoth in its tracks, not to mention any number of less gentle spells. So I assure you, we do not. Yuffie is young, yes. But she also has a fair amount of experience with magical beasts and Limit Breaks. If you fear Galian or your Red Cloak could harm her... well. You'd have to do it deliberately. And you are simply not that sort of man."

Surprise and wariness flickered over Vincent's face. "Merlin. From the moment the SGC knew Galian existed - I wasn't allowed to leave the Mountain. Or even to leave certain areas, without armed guards."

"Get over it," Leon said bluntly. "We don't have enough people to guard anyone. Limits are dangerous, but they're trainable. If you're going to stay, you're going to learn to deal with it. Or die."

Which probably wasn't the polite thing to say, Leon realized, as Aeris glanced skyward in exasperation. He wasn't good with people, damn it. Quistis could probably give a whole lecture series about it-

 _Runch crunch crunch crackle crunch!_

"...Don't eat that," Vincent sighed.

Flames sparking blue around the eggshell in his mouth, the black fire widened yellow-flame eyes. _Slurped_ the eggshell, tongue of flame turning pinkish and pale yellow as the Heartless cleaned out the last traces of flammable chemicals. Twisted the bit of shell for a better angle, and went back to crunching.

Leon stared. _Did that Heartless just wink at me?_

Peering around Vincent's shoulder, the Gargoyle pounced.

Flames flickered away moments before her talons could grab him, darting up to Vincent's shoulder and waving white shell with a jaunty air. Leon could all but hear the _nyah nya!_ giggling through the air.

"For goodness' sake," Vincent began.

Which was apparently enough to start a shadowy free-for-all that clambered over, around, and under the sniper like a flame-and-wings whirlwind, eggshell crunches ringing through it all.

Arms crossed, the little Shadow gave Leon a roll of yellow eyes.

 _Junior officers_ , Leon translated that glance. _What can you do?_

She let the scramble go on for almost a minute, then snapped shadowy fingers with an exasperated toss of antennae.

Suddenly meek as a kitten, black flames crept down Vincent's arm, and dropped bits of shell into her outstretched talons.

The Shadow nodded. Stepped forward, and offered the shell-bits to Vincent.

"Still Lea's Boss-lady," the sniper murmured. Blinked, and hastily looked away.

Leon kept his face neutral, all too familiar with the look of a man determined not to cry. "Aeris? How are they... holding together so well?"

"Vincent's their Heart," Aeris said simply. "They could pull him back together because he was part of their team, and they were human, and he _was_ human before Sevarius got nasty. The principle of contagion, right, Merlin?"

"Partly, yes," the wizard agreed, looking at the little Shadow. "Once connected, always connected. But I think there may have been another element... hmm." He glanced at the Gargoyle. "May I touch you for a moment, young lady?"

The stony face blinked at him. Looked at Vincent.

"He's a friend," the sniper said quietly.

"Kind of you to say so, young man. Now, let me see..." Merlin waved his hand just above her arm, teasing out the flow of magic. "Ah. Interesting. Risky, but obviously effective. Well done, young lady."

"Risky?" Vincent said pointedly.

"As Aeris said, in part it was the principle of contagion," Merlin said briskly, stepping back with a polite nod to the Gargoyle. "Both your halves were still connected to your life as a human, so they were able to pull you back toward that life. But it wasn't enough. To reclaim your human life... they had to offer something in exchange." The wizard cleared his throat. "To be blunt, young man - to restore your human nature, they had to accept a part of your _inhuman_ one, as well."

Vincent stiffened in his chair. "They gave up-"

"A part of themselves, to save you," Merlin said gravely. "It was freely given. And I believe that gift allowed you to return the favor. You couldn't keep them from becoming Heartless, any more than they could destroy Galian and Red Cloak within you. But when they made their Hearts part of yours, your humanity was linked to theirs. So long as you remain yourself, their Hearts cannot be fully lost. They'll always have a beacon to guide them home. I do believe we should watch them for a few days, just to be sure... but we've half a dozen strong Hearts in their range, and they've shown no interest at all."

Leon let out a breath of relief. Seeing his team killed had to have been nightmare enough for Vincent. Facing the prospect of possibly having to destroy their Heartless rather than let them hurt anyone else... Leon wouldn't wish that on his worst enemy.

Vincent's gaze was shadowed. "They won't harm anyone?"

"No." Merlin smiled, sad and gentle. "They've no need to hunt, Vincent. They know your Heart as their own."


	2. Chapter 2

For a dead man, the cursing redhead in Chaos' arms certainly wriggled a lot.

 _He's alive_ , Vincent thought behind Chaos' gold eyes, pinning the swearing Nobody in one arm long enough to fire a trio of Demi-charged shots into the swarm of Organization 13. With a separate trio reserved for the one-eyed energy crossbow-wielder; from Riku's information, that was Xigbar, and the last thing Chaos needed was someone controlling gravity around them. _Alive. If not whole_.

Black cloaks scattered. Chaos snickered, and dove around the nearest heights and cliffs, putting as much visual clutter between them and their pursuers as possible.

 _We could portal away. But it seems they tracked Axel's last portal. So... no._

Axel. He'd had the name in front of him for a year, from Riku's notes on the Org. He'd had the description; redhead, tall and thin, the Flurry of Dancing Flames. He'd had all of that. And he hadn't _known_ -

Whatever Lea had become, it seemed he still recalled the fluidity of Tai Chi. The Nobody slipped out of Chaos' hold like a greased eel, dropping to the ground with a hiss that meant injured ribs at the very least.

Ribs Axel proceeded to ignore entirely, sprinting to get the nearest big boulder between him and a very large, very _amused_ demon.

 _At least he still has some survival instincts left_ , Chaos commented wryly, retreating into Vincent's mind. Though not releasing their form; slippery as Axel was, they might need the mobility of wings. _I was beginning to wonder_.

 _So was I_ , Vincent admitted, blinking to adjust his vision to the haze of gold. Stepping out of the shadows to warn Sora of Xemnas' plan... to taunt him, yes, but also to _warn_ him, when Axel knew better than anyone the powers that pursued him...

 _Would Lea have done any less?_

"Thanks," came breathlessly from behind thick stone. "I've got no beef with you, you've got none with me, I'll get out of here and everybody can go home happy-"

"They tracked your last Dark portal," Vincent said. It was always _strange_ to hear Chaos' haunted voice speaking his own words. "Wait. Until they've had a chance to lose your trail."

"...Why?"

Wary as Lea had been the first day they'd met. Or worse. _It's been ten years. He has no more reason to believe I'm alive than I did him. Be patient_. "Radiant Garden is my territory," Vincent answered. It was, after all, the truth. Just not all of it. "Xemnas is not welcome here."

"Yeah? What about the rest of the Org?"

 _Wary as a kitsune in a nest of spider-folk_ , Vincent thought. And smiled a little at himself. What did it say about him when that was the first image that came to mind? _Ten years, indeed_. "The rest of the Organization didn't help Sora."

"Like _anything_ I do for that kid is help."

Vincent almost flinched from the bitterness. Yen Sid had said Nobodies had no emotions. That without a Heart, they didn't truly exist.

 _But I can feel him_.

It was faint; fainter than even his sense of Blackfire, when his Team was back at the spaceport with Aeris and Yuffie, while Axel was _right here_.

Yet weak as that flurry of emotions was, it was real.

 _Hate. Hope. Longing. Pain. Fear_.

But the strongest of them all was _grief_.

 _Why is he not screaming at the heavens?_

And who could a Nobody be grieving? They belonged to no World, had no one-

Vincent grimaced, Riku's plan suddenly taking on new and painfully personal meaning. "Roxas."

A _thump_ , that had to be a gloved fist striking stone. "What do you know about him?" _What do you know about anything?_ that tone challenged.

"I know that you were reported to work together in the Organization, pushing Worlds to Fall," Vincent said bluntly. "I know that Roxas left-"

"He was _kidnapped!_ " A crackle; fire splashing against stone. "Riku. It was Riku who told you. Had to be. Little Dark-Hearted sneak of a Keybearer... but hey, at least he's _got_ a Heart. And that's what matters, isn't it? We're not _real_. We don't matter. Just ask Sora."

 _Axel lies_ , Riku had told Vincent. _And when he's not lying, he twists the truth. Remember: except for Naminé, he's the_ only _Nobody who made it out of Castle Oblivion. He set it up that way._

 _Saïx is Xemnas' enforcer. Axel is his_ assassin.

All of which was probably true. Yet Riku himself would admit, there was always another side to a story.

 _Especially with Lea_.

"So." The crackle of flames ceased. "We're the bad guys. Doesn't matter if Sora snuffs out Roxas like a candle." A dark, rolling chuckle. "So when are you coming around this rock?"

 _I think that would be a very bad idea_ , Vincent decided. Grief and rage had always made Lea careless of his own life. From the wild mix of _need to flee_ and _need to kill_ hitting him from behind that boulder - Axel wasn't that different. "I didn't save you just to kill you."

"No? Shame." Soft footsteps, as if the Nobody couldn't help but pace, injured or not. "Guess I owe you one. And I _always_ pay up."

Vincent cleared his throat. "That's not-"

"Don't close with Xemnas."

Vincent shut up. That was _serious_.

"Don't. Ever. You got lucky this time. You got in, you got out, he didn't see you coming. Next time, he will. You were close enough. He knows what your mind feels like."

Even under Chaos' mask, Vincent felt his hair prickle. "He senses minds?"

"Reads 'em, too. If he's close enough. Hit him from a distance. Hit him _hard_. And then run." Axel drew in a sharp breath, hissed. "Even a demon doesn't want to see what life's like on my side of the street."

That made even Chaos uneasy. "Xemnas can create Nobodies?" Vincent asked sharply.

"Ooo yeah. Easy." Axel's voice was half a laugh, half a breath from sobbing. "His element's Void. _Nothing_. I've seen him backhand a guy right into a Dusk. Just like _that_." Footsteps stopped, and there was a whisper of leather; Vincent could all but see Axel leaning against stone. "Might be more decent to just kill the guys, you know? No Heart. No memories. Just knowing you're not _you_ anymore. And you'd do anything just to feel again. If that means feeling people's blood over your claws..." Axel snarled under his breath; words Vincent recognized with a shock as straight from Agrabah's back alleys. "I'm not going out that way."

Pain. And the determination to fight on past the pain. "There are potion sellers near the spaceport," Vincent offered. "I've heard some of them don't ask questions."

Hope. A chill of anticipated betrayal. Desperation. "Why?"

"You remind me of someone I knew," Vincent stated. "An anthropologist. From a place called Stargate Command."

"Poor bastard," Axel said wryly. "What world's that?"

Fanged jaw dropped, Vincent shook his head. No reaction. No _emotion_ , outside of a faint curiosity. _Something is wrong here_. "It was lost. Many years ago."

"...Sorry."

And Axel meant it. Even if it was only a faint, wistful regret.

Which was wrong, _wrong_. Lea should remember what had happened. He _knew_ Lea. Even if it weren't his fault, he would still blame himself.

 _He's not Lea_.

Which was exactly what Riku and Yen Sid would have told him. Riku regretfully, Yen Sid with a dark scowl and a sermon on how Nobodies were a flaw in the fabric of the universe, abominations that should never exist.

 _We're fortunate he's never met Red Cloak_ , Chaos mused. _That would be... awkward_.

That was an understatement. From all the Restoration Committee had been able to discover, it was the balance of Vincent's three forms that allowed him to host Chaos in the first place. Human, Heartless, and Nobody; he was all of them, yet not wholly any of them.

 _Pull one from our circle, and I might be forced free of you_ , the dark guardian of the Multiverse agreed. _And you would no longer be whole. I would miss that. I would miss you_.

Which was as sentimental as the demon ever got. Vincent drew a breath, and nodded. _He's not Lea. But he's still one of my team_.

Riku hadn't been able to find out what Xemnas' power was. If Axel was telling the truth, and Vincent had a sickening feeling he was...

 _He's just saved our lives_.

Leon had _not_ been amused by the Organization appearing on Radiant Garden's own walls. He'd planned to make that point to Xemnas, the next time the Nobody appeared. Personally.

Leon as a Nobody. Vincent's heart trembled at the thought.

"Kind of quiet over there," Axel said dryly. "Demon cat got your tongue?"

Vincent drew a breath, and frowned at the scent of fresh blood. Eyed the hand he'd held Axel with, registering the tacky feeling of drying blood. "You're bleeding."

"Yeah," Axel drawled. "Kind of noticed that-"

It was weak. Less than practiced. Definitely one of Yuffie's spells; Vincent could taste that in the hope and worry laced into _where are you?_

"K'so!" There was a _snap_ of sparking flames-

Vincent snapped his hand shut, just before fire blazed everywhere Axel's blood had touched.

A _whoosh_ of Darkness, and Axel's feelings vanished.

 _...Damn it._

 _I'm surprised he stayed that long_ , Chaos commented. _He must have felt safe with us_. A wry turn of thought. _Or he needed to catch his breath._ Deep within, a snarl. _They're hunting him_.

Vincent nodded. Axel had felt that probe of location magic. Felt it, and flinched away as an ordinary man would from a white-hot iron. And taken one of the most effective measures to cover his trail possible; fire purified, rendering his blood useless for any spell. "He feels safer with a demon than a human."

 _Are you surprised? He knows he isn't human_. Chaos unfolded their hand. _He didn't quite get all of it_.

Vincent stared at the dried crust of blood on his palm. Closed his fingers again. "Merlin?"

 _Merlin_ , Chaos confirmed, as they took to the skies. _But not Yen Sid_.

 _No_ , Vincent agreed. _I want answers_.

* * *

"How curious," Merlin murmured under his breath, making yet another note on a growing scroll. "How amazing! Now, I wonder if-"

"Can't you be amazed at a more reasonable hour?" Shuffling out of the hollow log Yuffie had installed up in the rafters, Archimedes fluffed out his feathers, and slicked them back down again. "We're not in Traverse Town anymore, as you well know. We have a proper day and night now, with proper times for some of us to be _asleep_."

Merlin smiled through his beard, properly chastised. "I suppose that was one too many explosions, old owl. But we'll have good news for Vincent. Good news!"

"Hmm. Well, that might be worth getting woken up for after all." The massive owl flew down to perch on a chair. Though not too near the lab bench and its many multicolored fires, bubbling beakers, and the odd condensation coil or two. "What sort of good news?"

"Patience, old friend. Vincent should be here right about..."

The front door creaked open. "You _scoundrel!_ " Aeris was giggling as she walked in with Vincent, Blackfire crackling on her shoulder and Keys a quiet shadow between them. Scathach, Merlin knew, would already be perched over the door; it was the Gargoyle's favorite spot, when she wasn't sneaking down at night to listen as he read treatises on the theory of magic. "I knew you were hiding something since the Great Maw!"

"Hmm." Vincent didn't deny anything, carefully shutting the door behind them. "Will you be able to handle your new guest?"

"She's actually very sweet," Aeris admitted. "Though she did look a little worried when... Merlin!" Aeris beamed at him. "Guess who's staying with us?"

 _Oh, dear_. "Did you invite Sephiroth to tea, young lady, or merely convince Maleficent to wear something other than black and purple?" Merlin inquired.

"Oh, that would be fun." Aeris smiled. "It's Naminé."

"Na - Naminé?" Merlin sputtered. Surely not!

"The little Nobody girl who helped Sora?" Archimedes arched a feathered brow. "How in the Worlds did she get here?"

"Axel brought her." Aeris cast an amused look Vincent's way. "And you said he didn't know when to trust people. Although he did kind of _eep_ when I smiled at him..."

From the carefully bland look on Vincent's face, the sniper thought _eep_ was a perfectly reasonable reaction to being smiled at. Especially by Aeris in a playful mood.

"Who-hoo-hoo, I'll bet he did!" Archimedes chuckled, wings pressed to his breastbone. "He lost his Heart, not his mind!"

"It seems to have been a bit more than that." Merlin beckoned to a few chairs as he picked up his scroll. "You'll want to be sitting down. Oh, it's not all bad news! Not even most of it. But it is rather odd." He frowned. "And given we can reasonably pin most of it on Xemnas, I rather think we've been underestimating our enemy. That never ends well." Letting a fluffy armchair sweep him up, Merlin rested the scroll on his lap and rubbed his hands together. "First! Yes. Axel is Lea's Nobody."

Vincent seemed to sink into the cushions. "You're certain?"

"Young man, I've been doing this for quite a few centuries," Merlin reminded him. "If you ever had to keep track of the Pendragon lineage - well, that's neither here nor there. Yes, I'm sure. Blackfire resonates with it." Merlin nodded toward the black flames, which were peering at the workbench as if he wanted to leap there and eat the samples. "He knows his other half when he senses it."

Vincent flinched. "If I'd had my Team with me-"

Merlin raised a stern finger. "Stop that _this instant_ , young man. If you had, you might have ended up with a nasty case of mutual suicide."

"Lea wouldn't-"

" _Lea_ is in quite bad shape at the moment," Merlin stated. "Blackfire clings to those he cares about, and currently Axel is rightfully afraid for his own survival if anything so much as twitches near him. He's fleeing a man who can use _Void_. If he stands a chance at life, he'll cast first and ask questions later. Xemnas won't give him time to do anything else." He took off his glasses to polish them, though the lenses' enchantments ensured they rarely needed it. Best to give the young shape-shifter a chance to compose himself. "I dare say that's the one thing that makes me believe he _was_ telling you the truth. Few enough of those with mystical training have any idea what Void is. Axel shows signs of direct exposure." Merlin placed his glasses back on his nose. "Specifically, someone used it with all the grand subtlety of a sledgehammer several years ago to create the effects of amnesia."

"An amnesia spell?" Vincent leaned forward, intent. "He really doesn't remember."

"I'm surprised Axel can even walk," Merlin said gravely. "And no, not an amnesia spell. That would be relatively simple to undo. Void isn't like the other elements. It's _nothingness_. Neither Dark nor Light, and highly resistant to interference by either. An ordinary amnesia spell would hide memories, or reshape them. This _obliterated_ memories." He paused, deliberately. "Almost."

Vincent was scarcely breathing. Aeris put her hand near his, close enough he could feel the warmth of her skin. "Lea's very stubborn, isn't he?"

"And he apparently had some knowledge of how memory truly works," Merlin agreed. "Given the level of magical instruction on your original world, he must have been working half on instinct. I can only imagine how determined he must have been, to concentrate even as he felt his memories disintegrating..."

Gripping the chair arm, Vincent's knuckles were pale.

 _Not helping, old man_ , Merlin chided himself. "In essence, there are many different kinds of memory. Whatever Xemnas wanted Axel for, Lea must have realized Xemnas wanted him _alive_. And that gave him the chance to protect something, if not all of himself."

Red eyes stared at him, unblinking. Archimedes cleared his throat. "Details, Merlin."

"Er," Merlin fumbled for the right words. "Well. Yes, you see-"

"Body memory," Aeris said suddenly. "If you're alive - you have to _remember_ to breathe."

"Correct!" Merlin smiled at her. "Yes. Even Nobodies apparently need air. If Xemnas wanted anything more than an empty shell, he had to leave the majority of physical memory intact."

Vincent's grip on the cushions eased a bit; the chair sighed in relief. "The Flurry of Dancing Flames."

"Yes, quite," Merlin said with satisfaction.

Archimedes traded a wry look with Aeris. " _More_ details, Merlin."

"Axel remembers the way to slip holds from Tai Chi," Vincent stated. "A martial art from our world. It's often compared to a dance."

"It's likely he remembers many things linked to motion," Merlin agreed. "Now, these wouldn't be _active_ memories, no. But they are a link to who he was before the Void struck. And Blackfire is another."

Pink ribbon-tie unraveling again, the Heartless peered at them from behind mini-sunglasses.

"Blackfire's always been weaker than a Heartless should be." Aeris leaned toward him, intent. "Do you think you know why?"

"I suspect so, yes," Merlin nodded. "Lea was caught in the same spell that fused Vincent's halves back together. It is very possible his Nobody and Heartless are still linked in a way most simply _can't_ be."

"They are." Vincent barely breathed the words. "When I was very close to Axel... I could feel him."

Interesting. "To make a very technical explanation short - I did mention a sledgehammer, didn't I?" Merlin asked, eyes twinkling at Archimedes.

"Yes, you did," the owl sighed, all too familiar with how Merlin's mind could grasshopper between a future he'd seen and what he'd actually done. "Would you mind explaining the sledgehammer?"

"Ah! Easily done." Merlin tried not to chuckle too loudly as everyone else - even Keys - braced themselves. "Picture one of Cid's jelly sandwiches in a bag." He raised a fist, then tapped it with his free fingers. "What happens if a sledgehammer comes down on one side of it?"

"The bread gets flattened... but the jelly squishes away." Aeris' eyes were bright. "Oh!"

"Ah. But now it gets a bit complicated," Merlin allowed. "If you recall what young Riku told us about chains of memories... now, put Lea's chain in that bag." He clapped his hands together. "The chain would be shattered. Many of the links would still be intact, yes; but they'd be squished away, all higgledy-piggledy, with nothing to tie them together. Even if Axel could reach them - and it's possible he _can_ \- they would not be links in _his_ chain." Merlin regarded the sniper with compassion. "Even if he knew your face, young man, he might not be able to realize _why_."

Vincent held very still. "But you do believe Blackfire holds Lea's memories."

"A Heartless is raw emotion, and very little else. He probably can't use them," Merlin nodded. "And he may not have all of them. Void is... well. It's meant to destroy, in a way even Fire can never do. Fire leaves smoke and ash behind; the potential for new life, just as we see the phoenix embody. Void leaves _nothing_."

Vincent frowned. "It sounds like a black hole."

"On the physical level, yes," Merlin agreed. "There are somewhat different effects on the mystical scale. A black hole in one universe can create an entirely new universe elsewhere..."

 _He's using you to destroy the Heartless_ , Axel had told Sora. _That's his big master plan_.

The Keyblade was meant to free Hearts and restore Worlds. If those Hearts were not freed, but gathered by one with the power of Void...

"I know that look," Archimedes said warily, feathers rising on the back of his neck. "That's never a good look."

"Excuse me a moment," Merlin said soberly, rising to sketch a quick outline of his thought to Yen Sid. Folded it into a paper airplane, and threw it to fly up the chimney. "It's a very theoretical possibility, and Yen Sid is far more knowledgeable of Keyblades than I am. Suffice it to say, I think I'm becoming a bit fond of your fiery friend. He may have stumbled on just what we need to keep the Multiverse in one piece."

Which made the wizard smile to himself, even though he knew Vincent would catch it. "What?" the sniper asked, tense.

"Some of my tests brought conflicting results," Merlin answered, bringing out his pipe. "Or rather, results that should be mutually impossible, given what we think we know about Nobodies. I believe I'm looking forward to poking about in Axel's past almost as much as you are." He raised a cautionary finger. "Mind, we'll have to scry very, very carefully. Coming anywhere close to a time Axel was near Xemnas would put us all in unacceptable danger."

"Even you?" Aeris looked skeptical.

"Yes, even me," Merlin agreed, with no trace of false modesty. "Void is incredibly dangerous. Sane wizards don't touch it, not even with Cold Iron tongs. And sometimes mind-readers can detect a scrying spell. If Xemnas truly _is_ reading minds, which - hmm, we'll get to that later. Suffice it to say there may be quite another explanation. Unfortunately, that one might be more hazardous for us, not less. Let's not take foolish chances." Puffing his pipe alight, he pointed the stem at Vincent. "Do you know of anything we might aim for?"

"Yes." Dark hair shaded crimson eyes. "Roxas left Organization 13. Riku said he did it deliberately. Axel claims he was kidnapped."

"Hmm. And you want to know how much of whose story to believe," Merlin said gravely. "Wise. Well, let's see..." Drawing in a warm breath of tobacco, he blew out a shimmering smoke ring, that expanded...

Opening a window into a dark city of glass skyscrapers and rain, and a blue-eyed blond in Organization black striding down a wide street.

You had to look twice to catch the blaze of red hair as Axel slouched against the pillar of a building. "Your mind's made up?"

Roxas stopped. Turned slightly, reluctant. "Why did the Keyblade choose me? I have to know."

It broke Axel's stillness; he shoved himself away from the pillar, green eyes blazing, fists clenched. "You can't turn on the Organization! You get on their bad side, and they'll destroy you!"

Roxas looked almost amused. "No one would miss me."

Without so much as a shrug, he stalked away.

"That's not true!" Axel protested. Face falling with his voice; shoulders slumping, as he watched the blond vanish into the dark. "I would."

Merlin watched Vincent almost as much as the vision. Nearly a decade with the young man let him read the quiet flash of disappointment on that still face. "Now, now," he said firmly. "You know scrying isn't an exact science. This is when Roxas _left_. And you did say you haven't heard from Riku since he learned Sora's Nobody might be away from the Organization, true? He only seems to be talking to King Mickey, and His Majesty's keeping remarkably mum with the rest of us. Aeris, perhaps you could nudge it a bit?" Merlin nodded toward the smoke ring. "If our hot-blooded acquaintance claims Roxas was kidnapped, perhaps we might give him the benefit of the doubt, and see if there are reasons he might feel that way."

Vincent glanced sharply at him. Aeris was already reaching out, stroking smoke with a whisper. The night scene shimmered-

"Ah," Merlin said in satisfaction, as more dark streets unrolled before them. Axel stalked through the rain with his hood mostly up, one chakram already drawn to ward off the Shadows creeping through the night, pausing every now and then to sniff the air. "This should be a few days later."

"Can't believe he was serious," Axel was muttering. "If the Superior figures out he's not on a mission... grow a brain, Roxas. Don't do this to us-"

He stopped cold, on the outskirts of a plaza in front of a particularly tall skyscraper. "That smells like-!"

Second chakram blazing into life in his left hand, Axel bolted into the main plaza.

"There was a battle here," Vincent murmured.

 _Indeed_ , Merlin thought. Glass had shattered up the side of the skyscraper. Concrete and asphalt had been pitted and blasted by steel and magic. And Axel whirled from spot to fractured spot, obviously reading the battlefield as well as anyone on the Committee.

"Walks into the open so he can swat a whole bunch of Heartless at once," Axel muttered. "Roxas in a bad mood. Go figure. Stops _here_ , and-" The redhead held his chakrams at his sides, crouching to mimic a shorter form. Looked up. "Memory's Skyscraper."

Darkness whisked through the vision; cleared to focus on the top of the skyscraper, where Axel stepped out of Darkness and took a breath. And snarled. "Riku."

The redhead hopped up onto the wall edging the roof, looking down where glass had shattered. "You went down, Roxas came up - clashed right _there_ , hit the ground again-"

Another Dark blur, and Axel was stepping through torn asphalt. "You fought. You're good, kid. But Roxas is better. So how the hell-?"

Another breath, and the hood was flung back by a full-body shudder. _"Ansem."_

"Does he mean Ansem the Wise?" Aeris broke in, surprised.

Vincent shook his head. "Probably not. King Mickey hasn't told many people that Xehanort's Heartless was using another name."

"Ansem's magic, and Riku's," Axel was muttering. "Either Mr. I-Always-Deserved-the-Keyblade got possessed again, or..." Gloved hands tightened on his chakrams. "C'mon, Roxas. You're better than this. You're a damn Keybearer. Ansem _couldn't_ take you down..."

The thin form was shaking. Shadows gathered, yellow eyes gleaming out of the dark. The swarm gathered, considered, _moved_ -

"No you don't!"

Fire blazed around the Nobody, red and gold and licks of livid blue. Chakrams flew, slicing Shadows from the air as Axel lashed out with fireballs and blurred to catch rebounding red-and-silver. The tattoos made a furious mask of his snarl, as Axel slaughtered Heartless with a ruthless efficiency Leon would have approved of.

Aeris shook her head, as if she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing. "They're attacking him."

"That makes no sense," Archimedes agreed. "Nobodies don't have Hearts."

Vincent was silent, but his gaze burned.

Within a minute, it was over. Axel stood in half-melted asphalt, chakrams still ready as he glared at the dark. The remaining Shadows seemed to fade back and away. For now.

"Well." Axel took a few deep breaths, green eyes flicking at the shadows. "Good news is, the Superior's not gonna track you from this. Bad news is..." He closed his eyes, just for a moment, and shuddered. "Head down. Deep breaths. The time you most want to panic is the time you'd damn well better _not_."

"You do remember," Vincent murmured. "At least that much."

Green eyes snapped open again, bleak. "Think. Even if it's Ansem - fuck, Sora _squashed_ Ansem, what the hell went wrong? No, no," he waved a blade-filled hand through air, frustrated. "Not _helping_ , damn it!"

A piece of rubble shifted, heat shimmering off it in waves. Axel sidestepped it without even looking.

"Even if it's Ansem," Axel whispered, "Roxas is a _Keybearer_. You know Ansem can't change that. Damn Keyblade sticks tighter than glue in Demyx's hair, he's not helpless as long as he's got Oblivion and-" The redhead cut himself off, green eyes brightening. _"Oathkeeper."_

Merlin leaned forward, intrigued. That sounded like a man who'd had an _idea_.

"I made you a promise," Axel breathed. "Long shot, but - notes. Need my notes. And components. Ansem knows how to hide stuff, and he's probably got traps set. Finding you is going to be like trying to find a bear-trap in the dark. But I don't need to track you if I can track your _promise_." He took another, slower breath, staring at the worst of the wreckage. "Hang on, partner. I'm coming."

Darkness swallowed him, and the smoke dispersed.

"Oh, my," Merlin murmured. "That is a very quick young man." Which rather fit with anyone who shaped fire so well, but... oh, dear.

"Lea is one of the most dangerous people I've ever met," Vincent said simply. "Not because he was skilled with weapons or magic. Because he _thinks_." Crimson eyes closed; a silent sigh. "Riku spoke to me several times about his dilemma. For Sora to wake, Roxas had to cease to exist. Riku tried to find another way. He couldn't." Vincent shook his head. "Before he left, he said he would try to persuade Roxas." A wry smile. "He led me to believe the persuasion would be... verbal."

Merlin raised a bushy white brow. "I would say not."

"So they were both telling the truth. Mostly." Aeris leaned her chin on her knuckles, thinking. "Oh, poor Axel. If he remembers anything from Lea, this must be his worst nightmare."

"Someone he cared for, taken for the greater good." Vincent flinched. "That would explain a great deal."

Blackfire crept into Vincent's lap, crackling softly against red wool.

Aeris nodded, and gave Merlin a very stern look. "But Yen Sid said Nobodies can't care."

"He's a philosopher, that wizard," Merlin stated. "If there's one mistake those scholars are prone to, it's believing their theories instead of the evidence."

Vincent was watching him like a hawk. "And you have evidence."

"I believe I do," Merlin admitted. "But I'd rather add a few more observations, first. This bowl has a few puffs in it, yet."

From the way crimson narrowed, he was testing the sniper's patience. But Vincent drew a breath, and did not tear the chair arms off. "Riku said Axel was hard to read. A Nobody who was... amused by battle. Who fought Sora as a test, and faked his own death at least twice. He arranged for half of the Organization to die in Castle Oblivion, and killed at least one himself."

"Unusual behavior, for one who was apparently terrified of what the survivors might do if Roxas left," Merlin agreed. "What was the name of the one he killed?"

"Vexen. The ice-user."

 _Vexen_. Merlin breathed in smoke, and blew a second ring.

Green forest, and a grassy sward leading up to a mansion's gates. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were breathing hard, obviously just out of a fight; a blond Nobody was on his hands and knees in front of the gate, laughing madly. "Turn him back?" Vexen made it to his feet, a breath from falling back over. "All he can do now is fall into the empty darkness. Just like you, Sora! If you continue to go after Naminé, you'll be trapped by your memories and lose your heart... and just be Marluxia's tool!"

Sora started. "Marluxia? What's he got to do with Naminé?"

Ablaze, a familiar chakram swept past, slamming into Vexen's chest.

Panting a bit, Axel straightened. The Keybearer turned, eyes wide. "Axel!"

Grinning, the redhead waved two fingers. "Yo, Sora! Did I catch you at a bad time?"

Black wisping from his chest, Vexen got back to his knees, dazed. "Axel, what are you..."

The Flurry crossed his arms; almost a shrug. "Just stopping you from saying things you shouldn't be. And finishing you off."

Flinging out a defensive hand, Vexen stood. "No... wait!"

Green eyes were alight, almost amused. "We just exist. We are Nobodies. But your memories and existence end here." He smiled. "You're off the hook."

Vexen recoiled, eyes white with terror. "S-stop! I don't want to-"

"See you." Axel snapped his fingers, and Vexen exploded in fire.

Sora was shaking his head, jaw agape, as the blond faded into black smoke. "What..." He turned on Axel, temper blazing. "What the hell is _with_ you people?!"

A bitter chuckle. "Good question." Axel glanced to the side, face distant. "Sometimes I wonder about that myself."

Darkness, and Axel appeared in one of Oblivion's dark basements. Pressed a hand to his chest, face blank.

 _Over the heart_ , Merlin thought. _Interesting_.

After a few seconds, Axel let it drop. "Tch. What were you expecting?" he muttered. "You know what you are. Nobodies can't be Somebodies."

He stalked two quick steps; reluctantly, slowed. "But why did he look at me like that? Vexen would've gutted you if he could, Sora." His voice dropped, dark. "Or worse... he'd have kept you _alive_."

More slow strides, as if he could walk away from the questions. "You're so lucky, Sora. And you have no idea..." Axel shook his head, green eyes narrowed. "Why does it matter? Nobodies don't feel. We can't. Why should any of us care, when nothing returns to nothing? Stick to the plan." He snorted. "While you can still remember all of it. Weeks away from our Superior's gracious presence... it makes things _so_ much easier." He smirked. "Time to give Marluxia the good news. The traitor has been eliminated." A chuckle. "And the _traitors_ will be."

Still smirking, he vanished.

Merlin let his smoke disperse, watching Vincent from the corner of his eye. At first the sniper's expression had been closed, neutral; not a flinch at screams, death, or betrayal. But when Axel had mentioned a _plan_ -

Something had flared, then. A blaze of hope, that didn't fit the vicious scene at all. And Aeris had looked grimly pleased. Hmm. "I take it the two of you saw something I missed?"

"Why would you follow a plan you know you won't always remember?" Vincent challenged him.

"Why indeed?" Merlin considered that carefully. Vincent claimed Lea had been a very intelligent young man. And from everything he'd seen, Axel was no fool. But you had to have more than intelligence for a plan like that. You had to have faith in yourself, that you'd planned ahead enough to take into account the perversity of the Multiverse, when you knew you couldn't think through your plan for flaws-

 _A plan you can't_ think _about. Oh. Oh, my_. "You really believe Axel could-?"

"Lea could," Vincent said levelly. "Lea _has_. Remind me to give you specifics of what he did to the NID while they thought he was still their mole."

"Look at what happened," Aeris urged him. "The Organization lost. Sora and Riku escaped them. Naminé won't change Sora's memories again; she saved him. And Axel let her do it."

"My dear, I don't doubt Lea's courage, or determination," Merlin said firmly. "Only those with the strongest Hearts and wills create a Nobody. But to successfully plot against a mind-reader," he drew in a breath, and puffed out an indignant cloud, "you need a great deal more than that-"

Smoke blazed into a white room, filled with a scattered blaze of colors. And an incredible blast of rock music.

Merlin winced as Archimedes stuffed feathers in his ears, and turned the sound down. They could still see the beat in Axel's tapping boot as he sat on a white bed, notebook and pen in hand, surrounded by... stuff.

 _And I thought Cinderella's little friends could be packrats._

It wasn't that much, on second look; about what you'd find if a few of the children piled their treasures together, plus a chest or two of pirate booty. But it was all spread out in plain view, beside the little white containers it'd been stored in. As if someone had hauled it out to look it over as a whole, instead of enjoying it piece by piece. Music. Knives. A black-and-silver spider-silk scarf, weighed down with gems in a firework-scatter of blue and topaz and ruby. A toy helicopter. Books; those were the only items half-concealed, as if Axel meant to shove them back under the bed at a moment's notice.

Vincent winced at that. Lea, he'd said, was a scholar. He'd _treasured_ books.

 _Which may mean there's a very good reason to hide them_ , Merlin thought. "Did you notice? Half those titles appear to be in Shakuen."

From Vincent's start, he hadn't noticed. And was a bit daunted by the implications.

"Can we find out any more of what's going on?" Aeris knotted her fingers together, distressed. "If he were here, I could try to feel him."

"He does seem alone," Merlin observed. "This should be relatively safe." He wove runes with his fingers and a whisper. "Mind, it's not reading too deep. More the very surface thoughts."

"What do they have in common?" Axel tapped his pen against the page, green eyes flicking from gems to helicopter to books, and back. His voice sounded oddly distant. "Do any of them have anything in common? I had to learn to read the books; I can't have read them before. So why are they familiar?"

"Circuses. Carnivals. Tales of the city," Vincent said softly. "You know them. Just not from these worlds."

"Might be fun to take Xaldin up on a helicopter ride, and see how much I _really_ remember," Axel smirked.

But it faded, into something bleak as a winter marsh. "But we don't feel fun. It's just in our heads." He touched over his heart, as if it were a fretful habit. "It scarred. Why does it still hurt? The others don't even seem to notice." A shrug. "Maybe they don't. And you'd better not let on that you do. Vexen's got you in his lab enough already. Nobodies aren't supposed to exist without memories. And you do. Drives him nuts." A wicked chuckle. "Heh. Can you go crazy if you can't feel it? Or are we already crazy?

"Except I don't exist without memories," Axel went on, mind-voice oddly pensive. "I've got mine, ever since I woke up. And I've got... pieces." He reached toward polished gems; drew his hand back without touching. "Like rifling through somebody else's toolbox in the dark. I run into something, and... sometimes I've got something that fits." His breath caught. " _Somebody_ else's. The Heartless gets all the feelings, wrapped up in a little psychotic clawed package. We're supposed to get the memories. But I didn't." He touched over his heart again. "If my Heartless is still out there..."

The redhead sighed. "Focus. Putting the pieces together isn't what you're really worried about. Not putting these pieces together, anyway." Fingers drummed paper. "Xemnas. Something's off about him. More than the whole, 'we have no Hearts, we're not human' thing. So what's... Logic. Lay it out logically, damn it. If you can't feel what's right, maybe you can deduce it. What do I _know?_ "

One finger went up. "We have no Hearts." Another. "Therefore, we are not human." A third. "We must create Kingdom Hearts. Only then will we exist as complete beings." A fourth. "The humans would never understand what we must do." His fist clenched. "One of these things is not like the others..."

Aeris was biting her lip. Merlin couldn't blame her. The odd sing-song of that last bit did not sound like a sane man.

"If we got our Hearts back, we'd be human," Axel went on, voice flat. "But Xemnas despises humans. Has to. He kills them like flies. Why would he slaughter what he wants to be? Logical answer - he doesn't. And if he's lying about that..."

A soft, almost inaudible thought. "I've got to stop him."

Axel sat bolt upright, scanning the room with wild eyes. "The hell? Am I crazy? He's got Void. He _reads minds_. I even think about putting a tack on his stupid throne, he'll know.

"I'm a dead man. Unless I quit this nonsense right now, get with the program; just because he doesn't want to be human doesn't mean he's lying about the rest of us-"

Gloved fists clenched. "No." Axel hunched on himself, as if in pain. " _No_. He's killing people. He's killing _Worlds_. And he's lying about why. _I have to stop him_."

Axel shuddered. "But I can't." Defeat rang through the words. "I'm not strong enough. He's got Void. It's like trying to stop a damn black hole-"

The redhead went very still. "A black hole."

Fingers seized notes and pen, sketching hastily. "We use magic through our affinities, unless we go to a hell of a lot of trouble not to." Axel's thoughts were a racing mutter. "Mine's Fire. Xaldin's Wind. Xemnas is _Void_. If his mind-reading's part of that - he doesn't cast, doesn't mumble, doesn't even finger a paper charm! It's gotta be." A bitter laugh. "Or you're dead for keeps. But if it _is_..."

The funnel of a black hole into _elsewhere_ covered half the page, with a dotted event horizon around it. "He's got to have a range, or he wouldn't be so damn picky about where we are all the time," Axel rushed on. "Right now, I'm outside it. Or I'd already be dead. But once I'm inside it, and he reads me-"

The pen stilled over paper. "If he can't read me, he'll know something's up. Shield won't work. Can't shield against a black hole anyway; all you can do is stay out of its range, and hope if you do get near you can use a slingshot around another gravity well to get the hell away..."

Axel sat up. Whistled. "Slingshot."

Two more dots joined the diagram; one on the edge of the event horizon, one safely away. Circling arcs joined the dots in one long, fragile loop.

"I don't need him not to read me." Axel tapped a pen against the loop. "I need to _not think of the plan_ when he reads me. If I can get memories from my Heartless... what if I push memories _to_ him?"

Merlin's jaw dropped, before he recovered his poise. One thing for Vincent to propose his friend could conceive of such a wild notion. But to attempt to carry it out, without a carefully worked-out and tested spell-

Axel ripped the page out of his notes. Gripped it tight, as he searched through a scatter of polished color. "Red," he murmured, setting a pair of carnelians on the red floor, gleaming like angry eyes.

"Carnelian is protection," Merlin said quietly. "Especially for the mind. Oh dear. Surely he's not going to try to ad lib a memory spell!"

"Blue." A distance from the other pair, as if on the arc of an invisible circle.

"Aventurine. For locks and secrets. My word, he is." Merlin eyed the smoke in disbelief. "Are all of your Team this reckless?"

Vincent smirked.

"Gold." A pair of tiger-eyes, polished to shimmering bands.

"Courage, and Fire," Merlin summed up. "Two, four, six - hmm. I suppose three pairs are effective, but mystically it would be better if there were seven-"

"Wait," Vincent said softly. "Look. Red. Blue. Gold. Those are eyes." He drew a sharp breath. "Those are _us_."

Axel was digging into the box the gems had been stashed in, unlatching an even smaller box within to take out a steel-glittering lump.

 _No, not just steel_ , Merlin realized. A bumpy, lumpy polished steely ore, dotted with crystals of brilliant green olivine.

"And add one magnetic meteorite." Axel stepped into the circle, and grinned.

Reached into his robe, and took out a brush and a can of white paint.

"You can't make a magical circle with _paint from a bucket!_ " Merlin sputtered. "The mystic forces require gravity, discipline, respect-"

Circle painted, Axel made the can and brush vanish. Picked up his notes and the meteorite, and nodded toward empty air. "Yo."

Aeris giggled. Merlin clapped a hand to his forehead in disbelief.

"I need to stop him," Axel said soberly. "What he's doing to the Worlds - I figure there's _something_ that needs him stopped." He waved his notes. "This is what I've got. If you think it'll work - _help me_." His voice caught. "Please."

"I know when this was," Vincent murmured suddenly. "It wasn't long after I Keyed. Chaos felt - so very odd..."

For a moment, there was nothing.

Slowly, paired gems began to glow. Aventurine and tiger-eye with Light, as Merlin had expected-

Carnelian and olivine blazed Dark.

"Balanced powers," Merlin said under his breath. "Balanced forces. My word."

"He asked the Multiverse for help," Aeris said quietly. "And it answered."

Light and Dark chased each other inside the circle, crackled over gems, set paper bursting into flames-

Snapped out, leaving something shimmering in midair.

"A Keychain," Aeris breathed.

Startled, Axel gripped the mini-chakram, studying the silver-and-red chain on it with bewilderment. "What 'm I supposed to do with-"

He crumpled to his knees, as if they'd suddenly decided to abandon him. "It's... heavy."

The rhythm of rock shattered, as someone banged on the door.

"Company," Merlin grumbled, cutting off the mental probe. "How unfortunate."

Bewildered, Axel absently tucked the Keychain away in his cloak, carefully getting to his feet. Took one step toward his books-

Halted the next mid-stride, as if he'd just seen the betraying glint of white paint. Raised red brows, and stepped a little farther, quickly shoving his tomes out of sight before standing on the other side of the circle from the door. "It's open."

Darkness stalked in.

Merlin grimaced, and held the smoke together. Whatever, whoever that was, scrying did not _like_ them.

 _It's as if I were trying to fix on a Keybearer who did not want to be found-_

 _Oh. Oh, dear_.

It couldn't be Xemnas. The smoke would have cleared to protect them, ending the vision. And yet-

 _Dear gods. What Yen Sid has let slip through those tight lips of his, of what happened to Terra and Ventus... No wonder Axel is running for his life. Any sane man would have fled years ago!_

But then, Axel hadn't been sane, had he?

 _We should have made sure Xehanort was truly dead. We should have been sure!_

Smoke coalesced, into a shape of ragged long blue hair and feral yellow eyes. "There was a disturbance in the Castle's magic. What are you-"

Saïx' foot hit slick paint, and black robes went skidding like a drunk penguin.

Safely out of the way as the Luna Diviner hit the wall, Axel snickered.

"You..." Saïx' lips pulled back in a snarl, as he carefully got to his feet. "You insist on clinging to the absurd notion that you have a sense of humor."

"Hey, last I heard, the funnybone wasn't in the Heart," Axel grinned. "Laughing, Saïx. You should try it sometime. You'd probably terrify every kid in a fifty-mile radius. Which would make a Heartless breakthrough _so_ much easier, hmm?"

"Don't try to pretend you enjoy our work." Saïx snapped dust off his robe, eyes glittering. "The Superior may tolerate your insolence. For now. But never forget what you are. Assassins work best in the dark. When the battle moves to the open, you're useless."

"But I'm a _distracting_ useless." Axel gave him a fey, bright grin. "You have no idea how easy it is for Heroes to get distracted."

Yellow eyes narrowed. "Perhaps you need another lesson with Xaldin."

"Maybe I do," Axel said shamelessly. "I'm not sure I got the _point_ last time-"

Blue and black _blurred_.

Axel was slammed against the wall, Saïx' fingers gripping his throat. "Know your place," the Diviner said coldly. "Know your _number_."

"Axel. Number Eight," the redhead bit out. "I've got it memorized."

"Good." Saïx let go, stepping back; face still cold as the moon. "Then perhaps we can be friends again... Lea."

Fingering the bruises on his neck, Axel watched him with shadowed eyes.

"What? No exclamations? No sudden flashes of memory?" Saïx' pointed ears almost seemed to twitch. "It's your _name_."

 _He expected something to happen there_. Merlin leaned forward, intent. _He was expecting an opening. A way_ in.

Given what he was now all but certain had happened to Saïx, that was chilling.

 _No wonder the Multiverse answered. There wouldn't have been another chance_.

"Three letters." Axel's face was utterly blank. "Limited number of permutations. Six, actually. Not that many to guess from."

"My, you're an untrusting sort." Saïx' smile was slow and cruel. "That must be why I liked you." He stepped away, casting a glare at the painted circle. "Clean that up."

"Looks pretty clean to me," Axel muttered, as the door snicked closed. "Huh. That was weird..." The redhead stepped back, blinking. "What the-?"

Fishing in his cloak, Axel pulled out the Keychain. Stared at it. Closed his eyes, and bit his lip.

Frowning, Merlin re-invoked the probe. _Risky. But we need to know_ -

"It works. I didn't remember. But I felt... that means Saïx..." Axel covered his mouth with his hand, pale and shaking. "Oh, I'm gonna - no. No, no time to be sick, oh hell..."

Dead white, he dropped to one knee and breathed.

"...Xemnas is _inside_ Saïx."

Merlin's blood ran cold. _I was right. Oh heavens, I was right. And we were scrying then. If I hadn't lifted the probe-!_

"That's why he's got us. Has to be. He hates humans. He wouldn't blink about wiping their souls out. So - he can't use them. He needs Nobodies. A Heart must stop it. So he finds us, strings us along, and... does it. How? And what do I do if he goes for me-"

The Keychain blazed, flames flickering on its edges.

"That a promise?" Axel swallowed. "I guess... if he gets into me, I'll forget everything permanently, huh? What a mess." He took a shaky breath. "Kind of wish I could feel scared right now. I've got a _great_ excuse to curl up and hide somewhere. But I don't get off that easy, do I?" The redhead took a deeper breath. "Figure out who Xemnas got to. Figure out _how_ he got to them. And if you can't..." Green eyes were bleak. "Then I need to take us all out."

* * *

"He'll do it." Dispersing smoke was warm, but Vincent felt chilled to the bone. "Half of them are dead already. Castle Oblivion, Demyx here - Riku was right. Axel did plan it that way... Aeris?"

The Cetra was pale, knuckles at her lips as she fought not to cry. "Sora."

The bottom seemed to drop out of the world.

"You thought - we all thought - Axel was angry because Roxas was gone," Aeris went on. "But he's not just angry. He's _terrified_. And - I felt a darkness in Sora. I thought it was just from taking Roxas back..."

In the back of Vincent's mind, Galian snarled.

 _This will not be_ , Chaos bit out. _Corrupting a Keybearer? Xemnas or Xehanort, this creature must_ cease.

"And no wonder he's terrified." Tears were still bright in Aeris' eyes, but she kept her voice steady. "If he thinks he has to - to hurt Sora, to make sure Xemnas is stopped... who's going to believe him? Who would even believe Sora needs help? Everybody _knows_ Keybearers can't be evil."

"Believe me, Xehanort was quite the exception," Merlin grumped.

Vincent stared at him. _Xehanort is a Keybearer?_

The wizard cleared his throat, and waved a warning finger. "That is not to leave this room, quite literally. If you believe Leon has to know - yes, I see from your faces you do, it wasn't important before - then we'll tell him here, behind my wards. And the two of you are not leaving until I've concocted new shields for both your Hearts. All your Hearts," he added, with a glance at the Team. "Don't say it," he grumbled at Archimedes.

"Whoooo? Me?" The owl puffed up his feathers, amused. "Why, I wouldn't dream of saying that perhaps you and His Majesty might consider playing a few cards a bit less close to your vests, hmm? In case, oh, it just happens to be that someone you didn't expect has answers we need."

"Quite." Merlin rubbed his brow.

"Our Hearts?" Vincent said sharply. "Not our minds?"

"You had mind-readers on your World, yes? The Asgard, and other creatures?" Merlin barely waited for his nod. "Likely that's why Axel jumped to that conclusion. It was a very good guess, given the man's grasping in the dark. But it was wrong." For once, the sorcerer looked near his age. "Yen Sid believed that with Xehanort's very being split apart, he could no longer access the powers of a Keybearer. Given what we now know about Sora, and Roxas... that belief was terribly wrong."

Aeris' hands gripped each other. "A Keybearer can read people's _Hearts_."

"And far more than that, with training," Merlin agreed. "Which Xehanort has had, and Sora, unfortunately, has _not_. Xehanort was - and I believe Xemnas _is_ \- quite capable of reading the World-fragments around anyone, just as Aeris can. On top of that, he was a very intelligent man. Put that together... yes, I'm quite certain Axel did feel as if Xemnas were reading his mind."

"But you believe he can't." Vincent made himself breathe normally, even as the walls seemed to close in and his demons wanted _out_. "If his spell failed, why is Axel still alive?"

"Because he _didn't_ fail, young man." Merlin glanced into the distance, a smile splitting his beard. "Perhaps it was luck. Perhaps the favor of the Multiverse. Whatever the cause, even though your fiery friend drew the wrong conclusion, he took the correct _action_." The wizard's gaze twinkled at him. "Xemnas reads Hearts. And Axel made certain all that might have betrayed him _was not there_."

Stunned, Vincent stroked dark flames.

"I don't know nearly as much about a Keybearer's powers as I would like to," Merlin went on, making notes on his scroll. "Still, I do know some of what Xehanort was known to be capable of. He couldn't read minds. But he could _invade_ them, under certain circumstances. As he appears to have done to Saïx." Merlin regarded him, eyes very grave. "As I believe he tried to do to Axel, through Saïx. Thank goodness your friend is Fire. If he'd waited to try a more tested invocation..." The wizard ducked his head a moment, brows knitted in sudden, furious thought.

Sitting on his impatience, Vincent traded a glance with Aeris. Who shrugged, equally baffled.

Merlin's face cleared, and a rolling chuckle emerged from his beard. "Ha! Oh, good show, young man. Good show indeed! Hoist on his own petard, my word!"

"Details," Vincent chorused with Archimedes.

"Heh. Heh heh, indeed!" Merlin waved his pen in triumph. "Ah, yes; you don't know how Xehanort worked. Not that even Yen Sid knows everything, I suspect. But what we do know... in essence, Xehanort dug his talons into others' minds and Hearts by making them _doubt_ themselves. Who they truly were. Whether they were worthy of wielding their powers, or even of _being_. That's why he renamed the Nobodies, I'd wager. Make the new name theirs, let them _exist_ as that being - and then, when you've settled them into that life, shatter it by invoking their _old_ true name." For a moment, Merlin looked grim. "Using the Multiverse itself to shatter a soul. How... fiendish." The wizard snorted. "No insult to Chaos meant."

"None taken," Vincent acknowledged, turning over Merlin's facts and evident glee in his mind. "Axel can't _remember_ his name..."

"Ordinarily, that would make no difference," Merlin nodded. "The Multiverse knows all our names. But I did say this was no ordinary amnesia spell, didn't I? Xemnas shattered Lea's very being. And when Axel gave it the chance, the Multiverse used that to spike Xemnas' wheels quite thoroughly. _Axel_ holds that Keychain. So long as he does, the Multiverse won't _allow_ another name to bind him." He grinned in triumph. " _That's_ why Naminé has no shadow you can find, Aeris. Xemnas can't break her, not that way. She never had a true name, before her own."

"Xehanort," Aeris said firmly. "No matter what name he's using, he's nowhere _near_ Ansem the Wise."

"Hmm. Yes, and no. To answer what I'm sure is one of your questions, Aeris - yes, you do know the name. But the form he took as Ansem's apprentice was not his original body." Merlin sighed. "It was another Keybearer's."

Vincent shivered. "Sora. _Riku_."

"Riku's a very stubborn young man, with one of the strongest talents for using Darkness _cleanly_ I've ever seen," Merlin said firmly. "We'll warn him, yes. But recall that Riku was _possessed_ , not split apart. His Heart always remained intact, and His Majesty believes Riku has flattened what remains of Xehanort quite thoroughly." He sighed. "Now, _Sora_ is in very real danger. Not immediate danger, I hope. The last time, Xehanort only took over a body when his own had been destroyed-"

Vincent raised an eyebrow. "And what do you think Sora will do to Xemnas, if he catches him?"

"Ah. Yes." Merlin had the decency to look embarrassed.

 _Embarrassed about Sora, when Axel has been carrying a mystical target?_ Vincent's eyes narrowed. "Axel had a Keychain."

"Has," Merlin stated with satisfaction. "Likely since it first came to him. The energies do leave traces, if you know what to look for."

"Has," Vincent echoed in disbelief. "He's had a Keychain near a Keybearer's Nobody, for almost nine years, and Xemnas never noticed?"

"A Keyblade Master's Nobody," Merlin corrected him. "And no. I doubt Xemnas noticed a thing. I did tell you I had unusual results. And there is one scenario in which even a Keyblade Master can't sense a Keychain." He chuckled. "And won't that be one in the eye for old Yen Sid? Facts, man! Get your facts. Then build your theories."

Aeris wiped her eyes, but she was smiling. "He just _would_ break the laws of the Multiverse."

Vincent looked between them, resting a hand on Keys' shoulder when she crept closer for comfort. The only time a Keybearer couldn't sense a Keychain was when it was in the hands of a... _"Axel?"_

Aeris giggled. "I can't wait to see the look on his face!"

Axel, a Hero. Somehow, it didn't seem nearly as impossible as it should.

"He's definitely Keyed." Merlin nudged his glasses, meeting Vincent's gaze squarely. "Standing to fight one who wields a force of the Multiverse, to protect other lives? That's no mere Heartless he's after. A Keyblade Master, fallen to Darkness. Axel chose to risk the Heart he doesn't know he has, when he couldn't even feel what was right." He chuckled. "As our young lady here might say, the Multiverse has decided this one's a keeper."

Vincent leveled his gaze at Aeris.

She gave him her best innocent look. "What?"

"Axel knows he has a Heartless," Vincent stated. "But the two of you aren't talking about Blackfire. Are you."

In his lap, the Heartless crackled indignantly.

"No, my boy. We're not," Merlin said, very gently. "I'm not certain what this means, or what will happen when Lea is reformed. But Axel does have a Heart."

"It's very young, and hidden," Aeris agreed. "Almost as young as Naminé's. And it hurts. But he won't give up. He could. He just won't."

"Nor should he," Merlin said firmly. "Nor should any of us. If Xemnas' power is Void, and we know it, then we all stand a better chance this time around. Knowledge, my young friends! Knowledge! Void is one of the most deadly powers in existence. But there is something which can stand against it."

Vincent felt a demon's chuckle, and knew the answer even as Aeris smiled. "And there was darkness, and a light moved on the face of the waters," he murmured. "The other face of the Void... is Chaos."

* * *

 _Tired. So damn tired_.

Leaning against a cliff wall well away from the spaceport, Axel rubbed his eyes. You could only keep going on Potions and Ethers so long. Sooner or later, even a Nobody's body had to crash.

 _Sneak into town, grab some real food... their security system still glitches on Nobodies, I can blank the video feeds so the Committee never lays eyes on me-_

 _Is that chocolate?_

There are some things no man or Nobody was meant to resist. A double-chocolate chip cookie on a napkin, sitting on a small rock in plain view, was one of them.

 _Um. Obvious trap?_

Then again, he wasn't smelling any magic besides a little housewife-charm on the napkin to persuade ants to picnic elsewhere. And Vexen's idea of proper experimental meals had made him pretty much immune to any mere food-based poison.

Besides. Chocolate. Sure, there were plenty of poisoned foods across the Worlds. Maleficent and her apples, Rasputin and his wine, and who knew what Ursula had done to poor, innocent sushi. But chocolate? Tamper with that, and you'd have half the Multiverse - Heroines _and_ Villainesses - after your hide. It just wasn't worth it.

With a mental shrug, Axel nabbed, and munched.

 _Oooh man. Hot!_

Immune to poison, Axel decided, plucking a bottle of water out of subspace, did not mean immune to habanero.

 _Cherry-chili double-chocolate chip cookies. Yowza_.

 _...Yum._

Which was just a little daunting. Who came up with a flavor like that, unless they were practically fireproof?

A few yards down the trail, another red-and-white napkin waved in the wind.

Axel narrowed his eyes, and peered farther down the way. _Somebody left a trail of cookies? Weird sense of humor_...

Damn it. Now his curiosity wanted in, along with his stomach.

 _And don't think, "What could possibly go wrong?" You could write an_ encyclopedia _on ways this could go bad_.

Warily, Axel followed the trail, tucking cookies away in a subspace pocket while he kept nibbling on the first. Hungry, yes. Stupid, no.

A dozen cookies later, there was a note with the last. _I'd like to talk_.

Glancing out of the corners of his eyes, Axel spotted a bit of tattered red cloth peeping around the edge of a boulder. "So talk."

"Chaos said you preferred to keep solid rock between you and an unknown."

A rich voice, that seemed to wrap around Axel's ears and twitch, _you've heard this before_. He tucked the last cookie away, tense. "Chaos?"

"You warned him not to close with Xemnas."

Oh. The big guy. Huh. "So where is he?" Axel asked warily. "He didn't go after Xemnas after all, did he?" 'Cause that would just _suck_.

"Worried?"

Axel snorted. "You kidding? I'm a _Nobody_." Though he wondered. Sometimes, he wondered. "It'd just be a waste. I _warned_ him."

"He listened," the not-familiar voice said firmly. "He has a very good hiding place."

Ooookay. "You got a name?"

A resigned chuckle. "Yuffie calls me Vinnie. Sometimes." More soberly, "You warned Chaos about Xemnas. But not about Saïx." Quieter, "Or what might be lurking in Sora, to turn the tide for evil when we least expect it."

Axel took a step back, hands out and ready to summon at his sides. Behind rock, nothing; all he had to do was angle the throw right. "What do you know?"

"I'm on the Restoration Committee. Chaos is - a friend. With the information you gave us, Merlin was able to scry for some daunting information." A breath. "Xemnas is placing fragments of himself in other Nobodies?"

Why did it suddenly feel like he couldn't breathe? Axel swiped the back of his glove at burning eyes. "You believe me?"

"Yes."

And the Bond of Flames was still a heavy, _remembered_ weight in his cloak. No trace of Xemnas here. Axel swallowed the lump in his throat, and just tried not to fall down.

"Axel?"

"I don't know how he does it," Axel got out. "I don't know _why_ he's doing it. He left Naminé alone; maybe being a Princess of Heart's Nobody keeps her safe. But everybody else... Saïx and Xigbar are the worst. He doesn't have much range in them, maybe a couple yards. But he's _there_. And everybody else..."

Vinnie's voice was quiet. "Including Roxas."

"I thought the Keyblade would protect him." It hurt to get the words out. "That's what it's for, right? Killing all the nasty stuff in the Multiverse. And it did. For a while." Axel shuddered. "But when DiZ had him in that virtual Twilight Town - Roxas _forgot he had the Keyblade_."

A sharp hiss from the other side of the rock. "Xemnas got to him there?"

"I don't _know_." No, no wailing. Wailing bad. "All I know is, when I tried to grab him... I forgot the plan." He almost wanted to chuckle at the irony. "I forgot. So I let him go. That's what friends do, right? I let part of Xemnas walk right into Sora and make itself at home. Now what the hell do I do, huh? Everybody's counting on Sora, and I..." He couldn't say it.

 _I have to kill him._

" _Everything you love will die..."_

"It won't come to that." Vinnie's voice was firm. "Merlin and Aeris are already working on the problem. They've contacted others who knew of Xehanort. His Majesty has been warned." A sigh. "If the worst comes to pass... Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather will cast him into an enchanted sleep. We will find a way to save him."

It hurt to hope. It _hurt_.

"Merlin isn't certain what Xemnas is after," Vinnie stated. "But he believes he knows how Xemnas is possessing other Nobodies."

For one red moment, Axel wanted to call up an inferno and shatter the boulder into powder. _"Talk."_

"Easy," Vinnie said softly. "Yen Sid would not be happy if he knew this information was in a Nobody's hands. But you've fought him for years, when we didn't even know he existed. You deserve to know." A rustle of cloth. "Xemnas is Xehanort's Nobody."

 _Xehanort. Take out the X, and-_ "Are you sure?" Axel said skeptically.

"To the best of Merlin's knowledge. Why?"

 _Not challenging me_. Which was _weird_. "'Cause it anagrams to _No Heart_ , and that's just way too convenient to be a coincidence."

...Now, that sounded like a hissed curse. "It might not be a true name at all," Vinnie growled. "Damn."

"Not exactly filling me with confidence on the quality of Merlin's info, here," Axel smirked.

"I'll have to remember that sugar makes you snarky."

Which sounded like Vinnie was planning for there to be other chats. That was interesting. And scary. "So what else does Merlin think he knows?"

"Xehanort was a Keyblade Master."

...Good rock. _Solid_ rock. Great for holding somebody up, when the world decided to fall out from under them. _"Gaaah."_

"Agreed," Vinnie said dryly.

"And Sora's going after-" _Breathe. Keep breathing. No help to anybody if you're passed out_. "The kid is gonna _die_." _No, no, can't let that happen, no! He's still got Roxas in him, and - not gonna happen!_

"Not if we can help it." Vinnie's voice was determined. "But apparently that's how Xemnas is possessing other souls. He's... perverting the ability of a Keybearer to read others' Hearts. Using it to twist Hearts into despair, and Darkness. Once a soul has lost the core that makes it _itself_ \- then he can invade a mind, and take over. And has. He's already taken at least one Keybearer as a new body. The form you know, the one we've always seen... that's not Xehanort." Vinnie's voice dropped. "Merlin says his name is Terra."

 _Terra_. Axel tasted the name; catching a flavor of old magic, like a hint of lavender from a forgotten dowry chest. "Poor bastard."

"Yes." A sigh. Then a hint of a chuckle. "So. With a Keybearer's abilities, Xemnas can sense the shape of a person's... place in a Story. And he's very, very intelligent. Put those together, and he has a very good idea what people will think and do, without ever touching their minds at all." The chuckle wasn't hidden, this time. "I know you hate to be wrong."

"Not a mind-reader," Axel said blankly.

"You came from a world in which they were... known to some people. One of them was your Other's enemy." A shift of cloth and leather. "It was a reasonable conclusion, based on the little you knew."

Alarm sizzled through him like acid. Axel smiled, and knew it would scare Ursula's pets into swimming for their fishy little lives. "You think you know about my world?"

"...Damn." A soft thump, like a head impacting stone.

"I don't know about my world. And you think you do?" Fire and steel were waiting for him. All Axel had to do was _reach_.

"No," Vinnie sighed. "But Chaos and I have met refugees from worlds where mind-readers exist. You've obviously had experience with them. And not as allies."

"And how do you know that?" The fire was singing in Axel's blood; he wanted to fight, wanted to beat something that would _stay down_ , damn it all.

"Chaos mentioned that you reminded him of someone he knew." Vinnie's voice was sure. "That man had lived in the power of a mind-reader for quite some time. It left... marks."

Silence. Which was far more persuasive than words. A liar would have kept talking, kept spinning the story out to draw him in like a fly. Vincent - was silent.

 _Why do I believe him?_

Because he did. He wanted to trust that red flutter of cloth, that quiet confidence that seemed to take his fear and pain and give back, _you are not alone, you're safe_ -

Axel tensed. Felt it echoed, somehow; reflected back with a warm wrap of, _shh, it's all right_. "What the hell is that?"

 _Surprise. Rueful amusement_. "You have... a bond with Chaos. As do I."

"The _hell?_ " Axel bit out. "I know demons. I didn't give him anything, I didn't _take_ anything-"

"You gave him your trust. And he returned it."

 _Like I trust anybody_. "You out of your mind?"

"You trusted Chaos not to simply eat you," Vinnie went on. "He trusted you not to distract him while he was engaged in combat-"

"That's not a gift," Axel objected. "That's fucking _common sense_."

"Common sense is a rare gift among demons," Vinnie chuckled. "And among humans, for that matter. You didn't just fight. You considered _why_ you were fighting." His voice was firm. "So consider this. You do not have to die."

"Die? Who, me?" Axel plastered on his best _everything's going up in flames_ grin on. "Nah. Now, the _other_ guys-"

"Axel." Vinnie sounded dangerously sober. "I know you're considering it. You mean to stop Xemnas, no matter what it takes. _Everybody else_ , you said. That includes _you_." Vinnie's voice dropped. "But he's not in you, Axel. Chaos knows his opposite. You've been exposed to Void, but there's not a trace of Xemnas in you."

"You don't know that," Axel got out, voice thick. "You _can't_ know that. I'm no Keybearer. Just a guy Xemnas scooped up who knows where. Don't even know how long he had me, how much he got in before he let me remember anything-"

"Your Heart kept him out."

If Axel had had a heart, it might have skipped a beat. "Say what?"

"Merlin and Aeris can wring a lot of information from the Multiverse," Vinnie went on. "Before your Other died, he was caught in an unusual spell. You are linked to your Heartless. To possess another, Xemnas and Xehanort both require a Heart drowned in Darkness. _Yours isn't_."

"But..." Axel called up a flicker of Darkness, just a nudge at the space between here and there.

"You do have an affinity for Darkness," Vinnie acknowledged. "That's rare; far more rare than Fire, or Wind, according to Merlin. But that apparently makes you _more_ safe, not less. Your Heart has touched Darkness. But it is not lost."

 _I want to believe you_.

But it seemed too easy. Too much like hope.

 _You don't know the things I've done_.

There were creaks and rustling, like someone putting down a heavy rucksack. "I'm leaving a pack here," Vinnie stated. "I would invite you into town, but you'd be too nervous to get any rest. It would be safe for you, the Committee knows you are not our enemy... but that, you'll have to see for yourself." Cloth brushed over stone, the red flutter vanishing behind the boulder. "Pick a defensible spot. There are usually at least a few Heartless in any of the caves around here."

"Nobody," Axel reminded him.

"You draw as many Heartless to you as Leon does." A soft laugh. "I wonder why?"

 _I smell like a Keybearer, that's why. Must stick around_.

Soundlessly, that sense of _trust_ faded.

Axel waited a few minutes more, then cautiously edged around the boulder. One backpack. As stated.

 _Not promised. Just said. Huh. Cautious guy_.

The caution, he liked. He liked it a lot. The backpack...

Why did that make him so _angry?_

 _Let it go_ , Axel told himself, checking through the contents; food, water, sleeping bag, a host of useful little things. _So they're helping Sora, not you. What'd you expect? He's the Hero. That's how it works._

Meanwhile, supplies were supplies, and he could definitely use them. That sleeping bag looked so good...

Shrugging the pack onto one shoulder, Axel grinned. The heck with caves. There were a lot of little tents dotted around the spaceport. If one happened to be perched right under a roof overhang near Merlin's hut - heh, you'd have to have wings to notice.

 _So let's make sure we stay clear of the darn fairies_.

* * *

(And a time-skip occurs, while our poor characters are trying to keep up with the havoc Sora sows through the Multiverse.)

* * *

" _Larvae-chewing spawn of an Unas!"_

"Amen," Axel growled, staring at that horde of shifting white and gray and zipper-mouthed teeth. Because damn, anybody in the Org knew Xemnas could make Nobodies, but this-

Wait. He'd heard _words_ , not a translation. Which meant whatever language that was, it had to be a _World_ language. Not Vinnie's language, but still from Vinnie's World...

 _And I knew what he said_.

The world seemed to blaze red around the edges. He should stop, keep quiet, at least run away-

He gripped his temper as he would his flames, and _made_ it back down. _Don't be an idiot. Wait. Could be a thousand reasons why a guy from the Committee - a guy who's had refugees dropped on him from all over the_ Multiverse _\- might know other languages._

But _he_ knew that language. Why?

 _Yeah, well - too many reasons why that might happen, right? Most of 'em ending in fire and death_.

But he wanted to _know_. Like he wanted to know what was really under that cloak. Why there was somebody on the Committee Sora didn't know about. Why Vinnie answered to a name that obviously wasn't _his_.

...Only Axel was pretty sure he could guess that last one. Came down to the same reason there were twisted ravening hordes below them, and it had an X written all over it. "My kingdom for a shaped charge. A ton of shaped charges."

"A pity we're not near Radiant Garden." Vinnie kept his distance, tone dry. Though ruby kept flickering toward Axel, searching. "I know some experts."

Axel squashed the urge to slap that gaze away. It was just eyes. Not fingers ghosting over this skin, claiming every inch as known and _belonging_. Nobodies didn't belong anywhere. "You might be talking to them sooner than you think."

Vinnie stilled. "You think-"

"I think that's an army down there, and what the hell else is Xemnas gonna throw it at? Besides the guys who smacked the Heartless down the last time." Or Sora. Gods, no. Not him.

"We've been under siege before."

Axel snorted. "Sure you have. That's not gonna be a siege, fuzzy. It's gonna be a _slaughter_."

"The Committee can hold them-"

"No, you won't!" Axel's chest ached. Crazy. "He's not coming for your damn walls, Vinnie! He's coming for _you_. All of you! Naminé's there, and everybody who ever kicked Org ass, and he is about to make you bend over and kiss it all goodbye."

"We've fixed the security systems." Vinnie's tone was level. Almost reassuring.

Except not, because Axel knew those security systems. "You fixed the _hardware_ , you jarhead! You think I've been dancing in and out with bells on 'cause of a few burned-out sensors?"

The red cloak was silent. Waiting.

 _What do I do? That's the only ace I've got left_...

Dusks in Radiant Garden. No kids learning to dance and fight and laugh even when the monsters poured out of the darkness. No blue suits stalking the shadows, breaking rules and breaking heads, all to keep people faced at the _real_ enemies. No ninjas to tie up in string, no green eyes that knew him and _giggled_ , even though Aeris of all people had to feel the Darkness clinging to him-

"It's a logic problem."

Vinnie raised a startled brow.

"The Elders were from Radiant Garden, before - before. Some of them knew how Tron was programmed. I found Vexen's notes." Went through them after the guy was dead, and never mind how nauseous it made him. You had to take your intel where you could find it. "He's meant to interface with human users. Means he has to think more like a person than a program. And _that_ means he's got blind spots. Not bad sensors. How he _thinks_."

Wordless, Vinnie inclined his head.

"You tell a computer you're two places at the same time, that's the info it spits back out," Axel rushed on. "You tell a person you're two places at once, he says, what are you, nuts? And Tron's not supposed to go crazy. He's supposed to be safe. Somebody you can trust. So if the sensors tell the computer you're doing something impossible, and that's the data that's supposed to go through Tron..."

"It never gets to him," Vinnie breathed. "Damn."

"Don't ask me how the programs work. I don't know," Axel said flatly. "What I know, is that if I open a portal and put some of my fire through it - that's my magic. It's _me_. And if all those nifty magic-sensors you've got up say I'm in two places at the _same time_..." He shrugged. "Far as Tron's concerned? I can't be there. So I'm _not_. And like the little ninja says-"

"To not be seen, is to be invisible." Vinnie shook himself. "But the Dusks can't think."

"If Xemnas goes along for the ride," Axel hated every word, "you really think they'll have to?"

Wind moaned, as if the Graveyard's threadbare fabric of the Multiverse was unraveling thread by thread. The color-shot _wrongness_ near the Dusk hordes seemed to shift, twisting bodies slipping into it like sand down an hourglass. "Go," Axel said grimly.

"Axel-"

"Go, go, go!" Axel slapped a hand at air. Deep breath. He could do this. "I'm going after Sora."

"But-"

"What, you want him to land in the middle of that mess when he comes charging back for Hordes of the Great Maw, The Sequel? _Not_ gonna let that happen." Not when he'd finally beaten his ego down enough to admit that no, he was _not_ going to be able to take Saïx on his own and get Kairi back. And leaving her in the Org's clutches, even if it would draw Sora into a trap full of Heartless...

 _I can't do it. It's wrong_.

And that hurt. Roxas was his partner. Didn't that mean something? Didn't it mean _everything?_ He'd burn up whole Worlds to save Roxas. Why couldn't he let the Org have one annoying little girl?

"Axel."

Something in Vinnie's voice brought him up short, before he could reach for Darkness. "Yeah?" he asked warily.

"Thank you. For helping us. I know it can't be easy."

Axel's hands curved at his sides, already longing for a simple, clean fight. "You want to thank me, tell me why the hell I'm doing this. You got a Heart. Maybe you know. Why can't I just... do what's easy? Let _him_ win." He stared at blurring colors; seeing a wall of flames, and sober blue eyes under spiky blond hair. "Why can't I just quit?"

"I had a friend once, who fought because he didn't want to die," Vinnie said quietly. "But you, Axel... you fight because you want to _live_." Silent, he held out a hand.

"I did that to Sora, once," Axel said, half to himself. "Told him we had a lot in common; did he want a hint? Smart kid. He didn't take it." It hurt. "Sometimes I wonder... what would've happened, if I took his?"

Even through leather, Vinnie's hand was warm.

"Get going," Axel ordered, stepping back. "You're a Hero, right? You got Worlds to save." He smirked. "I'm gonna go blend in with the bad guys."

The portal slammed him into the corridors, with that elevator-thump that meant he'd been more than careless. That meant if anybody was listening, they'd probably sensed him. Bad.

But Axel could feel Oathkeeper's tug on where his heart ought to be, sharp as fresh-broken glass.

 _Hang on, partner. I'm coming_.

* * *

 _I should have known_ , Leon thought, stunned, gripping his mug of steaming coffee in both hands. Under him the armchair fluffed itself, trying to comfort whatever had distressed him. _Merlin brought out coffee. I should have_ known _something was going wrong_. "Axel's a _what?_ "

Sipping his own mug, Merlin waggled his brows to waft away steam. "You heard me perfectly well the first time, Squall Leonhart."

How Merlin could make him feel like he'd been scruffed by a drill sergeant with just a name, Leon had no idea. But still. "A Keybearer? _Axel?_ "

"We know from Roxas that it's possible," Merlin said plainly. "And no, Axel is not a Keybearer. Currently. But he does have the potential. I did tell you about the Keychain, yes?"

"Vividly." Leon gulped some of the coffee. The caffeine was welcome. Now if it would just wake him up.

 _No such luck_. "Why are you telling me this?" And that was not a plaintive groan. If anybody said so, he'd deny it.

"Vincent has quite enough on his plate already, trying to lure Axel in," Merlin stated, setting his mug down. "Aeris - well, I admire the young lady, but I don't want to take the chance that her exuberance might outweigh her good sense. I've scryed quite a bit of Axel's past, and... oh dear. That Vincent has gotten him this close to the Committee is a mark of his patience and cunning. Things could go sideways, all too easily." He pursed his lips, choosing his words. "Ordinarily I would say nothing, until we have him convinced we've no ill intent toward him. But given what Xehanort was, and what Xemnas still may be - I'm not in the habit of taking foolish chances. Someone needs to know. And you seem the most likely someone to have any inkling what we should do with this knowledge."

 _I am, huh?_ Why did people keep tagging him with responsibility? _So what am I supposed to do with - wait_. Leon took a deliberate sip of coffee. "He doesn't have a Keyblade. What makes dealing with Axel different from dealing with any other magic-user?"

Merlin smiled, and nodded. "Astutely put, young man. To sum up? The vast majority of those who use magic cannot tap World energies directly." He frowned. "Most Keybearers would never dream of using that ability to cause harm. But one who does have ill intent, or who might be controlled by one such, as Riku was for a time by Xehanort... Keyholes can become very fragile. The amount of energy Xemnas could tap if Axel were ever in his grasp again..." Merlin sighed. "With luck, it still would not be as much as Riku and Sora can wield together. The Keyblade is strengthened by the Heart that bears it; two friends together will always be more powerful than an enemy and his unwilling servant."

"But Xemnas is trained." Leon could see where this was going. "And they aren't." A trained mage who could only pull off a candle-lighting spell could be far more dangerous than an untrained one with Firaga.

"Indeed." Merlin stared into steam, and drank.

 _I am so glad we're not in Traverse Town anymore_ , Leon thought fervently. Granted, if Radiant Garden's Keyhole was unlocked again, things would get bad. But the energies a few angry Keybearers could toss around might have torn that fragile sanctuary apart. "That's why you're helping Vincent get closer to Axel."

The wizard gave him a stern look. "Nobody or not, that firebrand deserves our help. He's risked everything to stop Xemnas. The least we can do is offer kindness, and safety."

Hairs prickled on the back of Leon's neck. "Risked everything?"

Merlin raised a hand as if to ward the question off; lowered it with a sigh. "I've no idea how to tell Vincent. I'm not at all certain I should. If he panics, if he tries to trap Axel even for his own good - especially then! - we may lose both of them." Merlin tapped the arm of his chair, thinking. "I don't think Vincent registered it, but... to acquire that Keychain, Axel did not use a spell. He used an invocation."

Leon leaned back against fluff, mulling that over. "He called on the power of the Multiverse. Isn't that what Keybearers are supposed to do?"

"Indeed it is," Merlin nodded. "They are given the power, and the right, to act to stop the Heartless. But Axel is not a Keybearer. Not yet." He looked into the distance. "And the vast majority of Keybearers don't spend their existence helping Worlds to Fall. There's a price to be paid for that, and it is never cheap." For a moment, the wizard's kind eyes glittered with righteous fury. "Axel may have more than his own price to pay. I strongly suspect Xemnas has many reasons for possessing the other Nobodies. But one, above all, might be enough. If the rest of the Organization are parts of his will... then they can pay the price _for_ him. And Xemnas himself will escape the Multiverse's wrath."

Leon clenched fingers on ceramic, willing himself to pull back before he broke it. Sometimes you had to call something what it was. "That's evil."

"So it is," Merlin agreed. "I've no idea who trained Xehanort with a Keyblade, but I'd like to give them a stern talking-to." He breathed in coffee steam. "If we're fortunate, none of this will matter. Vincent will convince Axel we're allies, we'll bring him to Yen Sid, and we'll shake the old sorcerer until some sense falls out and Axel can train as a Keybearer."

 _Right. And we're always_ so _lucky_. Leon grimaced. "And if we're not?"

"You, Reeve, and Aeris are Vincent's closest friends." Merlin's gaze met his, grave. "He will need you."

 _Damn_. Leon sighed, and nodded. "So what else should I know about potential Keybearers?"

"Well..."

Darkness _whoosh_ ed; Leon leapt away from Merlin to open the range, hand automatically going for his gunblade-

"Leon!" Vincent, tense and frightened as he'd ever seen the man as shreds of purple-black wisped away. "There's an invasion coming!"

* * *

(Timeskip, after the Heroic Sacrifice)

* * *

"I feared this day would come."

Numb, Vincent raised his head, Keys and Scathach pressing closer to him. The wind over the tower battlements was cold today. He'd counted on that and the stairs to keep most well-meaning friends and allies at bay. But none of that was enough to cow Merlin. "You knew."

"I suspected." The wizard perched in a crenellation beside them, fearless of heights. And why not? Fall, and with a few words he'd become a bird. "Axel was Fire and Air. Using the properties of gems to create the Bond of Flames... that was an invocation, not a spell. The Multiverse itself loaned him the power." The wizard lowered his gaze, respectful and mourning. "Such loans must be repaid. Always."

If he weren't so numb, Vincent thought distantly, he might be truly angry. "You knew, and you said nothing."

"I hoped that I was wrong. I can be wrong, after all. And I truly hoped I was." Merlin shook his head, hat not even wavering in the wind. "By the time we'd learned of it, that invocation was nine years past. He'd helped Sora, saved Naminé, and thrown a fiery spanner into all of Xemnas' plans. I'd hoped that would be enough to balance the books, so to speak."

Vincent closed his eyes. "But it wasn't."

"No." Merlin was very quiet. "No, I'm afraid not. He said so himself, the poor soul. He was part of the Organization. He helped Worlds to Fall." He sighed. "Including yours."

Galian snarled, and Vincent almost bared his teeth. "That was _not_ Lea's fault."

"And was it Riku's, that Destiny Islands Fell, when all he wanted was to leave?" Merlin held his gaze without a hint of fear. "Worlds Fell by their hands. That always - _always_ \- carries a price."

Now Vincent did snarl, holding Galian's rage at bay with an effort of will. "He was trying to stop them!"

"And they're not stopped yet, are they?" Merlin crossed his arms, stern. "Would Lea want you sitting up here in a great big lump of misery, hmm?"

The gauntlet closed on stone. As if from a distance, Vincent watched it begin to powder. "Leave me in _peace_."

"Now, see here-"

"Merlin." Tseng's voice, echoing up the stairs. "That's enough."

The Turk leader, speaking against one of Radiant Garden's defenders? Vincent blinked, the red haze fading from the world.

Blue suit, tied-back black hair, tattoo and black tie contrasting with the formal white shirt. Tseng stepped fearlessly out onto the tower roof, standing so his body shielded a little blonde from the blast of wind.

 _Naminé?_

"With all due respect, sir." Tseng tipped his head toward Merlin. "Valentine and I need to speak privately."

Merlin glanced between them. Frowned at Naminé, who ducked her head, sad and determined as Vincent had ever seen her. "Well then," the wizard said thoughtfully. "I suppose we'll take this up again later." He raised a warning finger. "In the meantime, don't do anything foolish, young man. There are far too many people who would miss you."

Sparing his magic, the wizard took the stairs.

"I'd be missed," Vincent said quietly. "Axel isn't."

Naminé gave him a look that should have scorched him to the bone. But she pressed her lips together, glancing up at Tseng.

The Turk leader raised an eyebrow, then met Vincent's gaze. "The young lady had an interesting request."

"I wanted to meet people who weren't Keyed," the Nobody said, voice thick with unshed tears. "I wanted to know what Sora was fighting for. What all of you fight for." She sniffled. "What Axel was fighting for. Even if he couldn't remember it."

"Part of what he was fighting for." Vincent had to smile, even if it was bittersweet. "Lea always had a visceral reaction to tyrants." He drew a breath, and met her gaze. "What did you find?"

"Axel was right. People are _strange_." Her white dress ruffled in the wind as she shrugged. "But... that's not a bad thing. Your Hearts reach out to each other. It's so warm. I guess... I guess I know what Axel was always trying to find. What Roxas wanted, when he joined Sora to be whole. And Xion..." She looked down, shaking her head. "Axel tried to save all of us. But... he couldn't. It's not fair."

"No," Vincent agreed softly. "Twice I tried to save him. And... I failed."

"No you haven't." Naminé gripped her pencil in one hand, just as he would grip Cerberus. "Not yet. If you stop Xemnas, if his Kingdom Hearts is shattered-"

"Our world has not come back in ten years," Vincent stated. He couldn't hope. He _couldn't_.

"But it _might_." Blue eyes beseeched him. "I'm _Kairi's_ Nobody. I can feel... some things. The Heart of your World is trapped in Xemnas' castle. If we can free it..."

 _Home._

 _...No. Not my home. Not anymore_.

But if a World revived with all the Hearts that had been lost, all the lives the Heartless had taken restored...

 _Kin_ , Galian breathed. As if it were reason enough for anything. _Our kin_.

Red Cloak was silent as always, but his angles and darting images were _red hair_ and _fire_ and _back-to-back against our enemies_.

Vincent nodded. _Chaos?_

 _To free the Heart of your World, we'll have to go through Xemnas_ , the demon replied. _I find that prospect attractive_.

Hmm. Didn't they all.

"Your partner died before he could finish the job," Tseng said bluntly. "What do you intend to do, Vincent Valentine?"

Vincent met that unwavering brown stare, and nodded. Looked at Naminé. "You have a plan."

"I can show you the way to the Castle that Never Was. Axel wanted to rescue Kairi, and..." Naminé's voice faltered. "He can't. So I will."

Vincent tilted his head, considering her words. From what he knew of Nobodies, this was not without risk. "If you're too close to Kairi-"

"I _know_." Her eyes were wet, but she gave him a brave smile. "There were people I wanted to see. Places I wanted to go. And... I saw them. I met all of you. I'll never forget that." She held out her hand. "But I'm afraid, if I tell the others... they might try to stop me."

"So you went to the Turks. Wise." Vincent inclined his head. "Are you ready?"

Swallowing, she nodded.

"Scathach. Keys." Vincent waited until they were close, then glanced at Tseng. "Tell Leon I've gone to finish a job."

Shifting into the silk-mist of Red Cloak, he carried them all away.

* * *

"He's going to get killed," Siler muttered, poking at yet another of Cid's diagrams as he tried to sort out what was wrong with the latest crashed Gummi ship. They'd worked out a pretty fair Shakuen-to-English lexicon years ago, but Gummi ships... well, they were made from part of the stuff that kept Worlds apart. Every once in a while something in them might decide they didn't like their current configuration, and then you had to go hunting for wherever the circuits might have gotten to. "Wrench. Vincent is going to get killed, permanently this time, and I'm going to be stuck here with clothes-switching fairies, live chairs, and what the Mob would look like if Harry Potter went cyberpunk." The heavy weight of the wrench landed in Siler's hand, and he almost froze. "...Um. No offense."

Rude smirked, overhead light glinting off the Turk's shaved dark head and the myriad silver rings studding his left ear. "None taken." A brow lifted, arching over his mirror-shades.

"Yeah, you still remind me of Teal'c," Siler admitted. "Though I don't think he ever rigged anything to blow up. Or did much of anything engineering related." The engineer had to smile at the memory. "Flew a mean death glider, though. The general had the ride of his life."

There. One access panel off. Circuits, circuits, where had they - aha. "Low and to the right," Siler muttered, making notes on the repair log. No telling if the wiring would still be there the next time the ship needed repairs, but at least they'd have a place to start. "Why couldn't Tseng tell somebody before Vincent and Naminé went poof?"

Rude's shrug barely stirred his blue suit. "Ask him."

Yeah, right. The Turk leader had the most genteel way of twisting questions aside without really answering them Siler had seen since the last time he'd dealt with a tax attorney.

 _Tseng's not stupid_ , Siler reminded himself. _Naminé was our look in on how Nobodies think. If he let her slip out of our reach, he must have had a good reason_.

...Then again, Turks usually considered _"I wanted to blow stuff up"_ a good reason.

And that led to part of his brain tying together explosions and the fact that Naminé could do nasty things to people's memories, and voting for them to go hide in a corner until everything blew over. Cid knew the Turks. He'd understand perfectly.

 _But I've got a job to do_ , Siler reminded himself, testing one wire at a time to see if it was carrying the right amount of electrical and thaumaturgical current. Aha. One broken wire, another that had gotten contaminated with Water when it was supposed to be carrying Air. _You do the job, even if you want leave. It's like being TDY. For a long, long time_.

Vincent didn't consider himself on temporary duty. Hadn't for years. Traverse Town, now here; the sniper fit into the Multiverse like ghosts in Halloweentown. And Vincent still had that plaque of spiderwebs and moth-wings, stretched over a thin slab of Night itself.

 _Town Mascot_. Siler shuddered. He'd told Vincent it was neat. And... it was. But wrapping his mind around the existence of Worlds like that, where Vincent was considered odd not because he changed into monsters, but because he spent part of the time human...

 _I want to go home_.

Siler shook his head, angry. He'd already indulged in his usual five minutes of wishful thinking for the day. Time to-

Rude's PHS went off.

The Turk flipped it open, nodding even as Siler pulled himself out of the panel. "Yes. Hangar bay five. We'll be waiting." He clicked it closed. "Finish your notes, fast. Reeve's got a warning on you."

"On me?" Siler said in disbelief. Yes, the Midgar engineer was a Seer of sorts. Which amused Aeris to no end, and Siler had never quite dared to ask why. But Reeve got warnings on Heartless waves. He never got a warning on individuals, unless-

 _Oh my god_.

Siler's hands shook as he inked down his last thoughts on the Gummi repair. Ten years. It'd been _ten years_ , they couldn't possibly be-

Rude was all but dragging him out of the ship, as Reeve skidded into the spaceport hangar at a dead run. Brown eyes lit up, and Reeve slowed down just enough to avoid crashing into them. "Here."

Stunned, Siler took the forest cammo handles Reeve offered, and tugged the go-bag into his own subspace pocket. _Damn, Vincent. What have you got in there, lead?_

Cerberus. Ammo. Yeah, probably. "This is Vincent's-"

"He probably won't have time to come back for it." Reeve offered a hand. "Good luck, Sergeant Siler. We're going to miss you."

"Likewise," Siler stammered, shaking warm fingers. "I'm going-?"

"Yes."

And the world seemed to haze, gold and dark and _light_ -

The whiteout faded into concrete, fluorescent lights, and an old, familiar toolbox on the floor by his feet. Siler blinked at the clipboard in his hand, looking at the tasks marked off so far: one fusebox checked, one scientist harangued for plugging too many devices into a single power strip, one suspicious rattling in the ducts that had necessitated calling Security before he opened the grate, because this was the SGC and you just never knew what might be in there. Fortunately, it was just a lost pencil.

Heart in his throat, Siler checked the date. _Monday. It's Monday, on_ -

Damn. King Mickey had said the Keyblade might reset their World back to before the first Heartless attack, but Siler had never quite believed it. Yet there was the date, in black and white.

 _Today's the day SG-6 goes to Xuihotl_.

Monday at the SGC. He had a full load on his plate. Better get to it.

But for now, he'd just stand here, and breathe in home.

* * *

 _DiZ's machine!_

Gone, Vincent knew as he hid in a white alcove of the Castle That Never Was. Vaporized in a blast that had shaken even Chaos to the core. So much power, so _many_ Hearts freed-

Scathach and Keys were Fading.

 _No! Not again!_

They fought to hold onto him, talons gripping his cloak even as they turned transparent. Vincent could feel their desperation, their panic; Vincent was _their_ Heart, and something was trying to take him _away_.

 _The World calls them back_. Almost a snarl, from Chaos. Xemnas was their target, and he was still out there...

"How can we help them?" Because yes, Xemnas had to be destroyed, but this was his Team. If he lost them, the way he'd lost Lea-

Chaos growled, but more in frustration than anger. Three Keybearers were together to face Xemnas; it had to be enough. _Trust me. Reach for the Light!_

It burned.

Falling. Almost like being flung through the Stargate, dark and stars and _potential_ singing in his veins-

Knees gave out, and Vincent sat down on a locker room bench.

Green-clad knees. SGC fatigues.

 _I thought it would be easier for both of us_ , Chaos murmured. _We should be able to maintain this appearance, if we must. Though your other selves are... upset_.

Which was a mild way of describing Galian's indignant caterwaul at being without metal claws, and Red Cloak's sense of _darting, closed in, flee!_

 _Shh_ , Vincent willed them. The locker room was empty for now, but that could change quickly. _Hush. Be still. Let us listen. Let us_ feel.

Curiosity, quick flicks of interest; like eyes following a stone skipped across a pond.

 _Angela_. So much more bright and alive than Scathach as a Heartless. _She's alive. She's whole_.

And if one of his team was alive...

Another breath, and Vincent touched a steady thrum of calculation and interest, laced with the shimmer of excitement that could only be one contemplating another adventure through the 'Gate.

 _Elisa. Captain_.

Two down. If Mickey and Riku were right, if power and the Multiverse had been kind...

Farther away. Flickering, as if a breeze were fluttering a flame two separate directions; terror and determination one way, a burning, black-humored confidence in the other.

 _Lea. I think_.

 _Perhaps_ , Chaos murmured. _If he chooses so, when his Heart becomes whole once more_.

Vincent started. _He's injured?_

 _I think he is more well than he has been in many years_ , Chaos chuckled. _Two flames can become one, but it does take a little time_.

Two flames. Lea's Heart, and Axel's. _What will that do to him? To them?_

 _We'll have to see, won't we?_ Chaos sank back, barely a murmur now. _Hurry. You won't be alone much longer_.

No; not if today were close to the day he remembered. And while his fatigues might pass, there was one crucial detail he needed to hide.

Spinning the combination on his locker, Vincent took out a boot knife. It was a good blade; trustworthy, keen-edged, and durable. He'd hoped to save it, this time around.

 _I have more important things to save_.

Steel groaned as he sliced off the weight of hair.

A quick glance in the mirror, and Vincent nodded. Not regulation, but it would do. For now.

Hmm. He had the oddest feeling he was forgetting something...

From the mirror, crimson eyes blinked at him.

Vincent caught the sink before his knees could shake, heart beating fast and wild. _I forgot. I_ forgot.

Ten years, he'd been among friends and allies. Among people who accepted _Vincent has red eyes_ the way they did _Cloud has a wing_ and _Merlin's furniture is alive_.

Not here. Never here.

 _I... want to go_ home...

Galian purred comfort at him. Even Red Cloak's darting seemed to slow, like silk blowing in a breeze.

 _I want to go home_ , Vincent acknowledged, letting the wild gardens and blue-purple cliffs of Radiant Garden unroll in his mind's eye. _But not without my team_. "Sunglasses," he murmured, hearing footsteps in the hall. Dug them out, and yanked them on, just before SG-2 poured in.

"Hey, Sergeant Valentine!" Major Ferretti grinned at him. "You'll never believe it. Sounds like you guys lucked out."

That was not what he'd said last time. "Oh?" Vincent asked, hiding unease with curiosity.

"Jackson's hieroglyphs. You haven't heard yet? Nah, what 'm I saying, you've been down here studying the briefing the way you always do." Ferretti gave him a thumbs-up. "Your new guy. Dr. Androushan, right? He _aced_ it."

"Broke out laughing right there at the front desk," Lieutenant Bussola added. "People thought they were going to have to do the Heimlich."

"Did he," Vincent murmured, a thrill of anticipation running through his veins. The first time Ferretti had told him of Androushan, Lea had copied the hieroglyphs into a notebook, checked his translation twice, and then grinned. Even that had been a pale shadow of humor, made bleak by grief Vincent hadn't been able to fathom until it was too late.

 _He laughed_.

Axel had sworn in fluent Ancient Egyptian. Among many, _many_ other languages.

 _Xemnas set a linguist loose in the Multiverse. Axel learned to read Shakuen. Who knows what else?_

He couldn't wait to find out.


End file.
